


The Passage of Time

by curlycue89



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-20
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-13 23:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2169954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curlycue89/pseuds/curlycue89
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story contains three arcs: one of the short yet influential friendship between Bianca di Angelo and Percy Jackson, another of the quarrels between Annabeth and Percy as they tried to get used to their new love lives and leave their pasts behind, and lastly, one of the holes between Percy and Nico.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Passage of Time

_**The Passage Of Time** _

__

Sometimes the small things that don’t seem to matter much are what you remember as the years wear on. Even when it’s something small, something that happens every day, you remember it for an inexplicable reason.

Like when you couldn’t fall asleep during nap time, so you drew dinosaurs instead. Or when the art teacher forgot to bring glitter, so your fairy princess remained dull. Or when you put on both shoes on the wrong foot, but your parents still smiled anyways.

And then sometimes big things happen, things that seem to matter, but then five years later you can’t seem to grasp what it was. You were screaming for joy at the time, jumping up and down, thinking, this is big, this is my legacy, I will remember this. But you don’t.

Like when you got a pretty certificate with an elephant on it, but you couldn’t remember what for. Yes, that would be passed down from generation to generation, the girl with an elephant sticker. Or when you won tag, and you caught the fastest kid but you couldn’t even remember his name. Or when you kicked a hornet’s nest and not a single hornet stung you.

Things

like

that.

____

**  
  
**

The first time I met Bianca, at Westover Hall….what do I say? I have no idea what I was thinking at that moment. My main thoughts were something along the lines of, I gotta get her out of here, she might fucking die, she might fucking die, goddamn it.

But if there’s one thing I can confirm, she seemed pretty relaxed for a half-blood that was about to find out the terrible truth….of Grover’s hooves.

____

The first time Bianca met Percy, she thought he was psychotic and trying to kill her, along with her brother, Nico. Bianca had wanted to fling his goddamned sword off the cliff, but she knew Nico would retrieve that sword and kill her with it.

Percy was Nico’s favorite game, Mythomagic, come to life.

____

The first time Nico met Percy, all he wanted to do was ask for an autograph. Yes, he had told them to stay back. Yes, their vice principal was growing a tail. Yes, Bianca actually looked nervous. And yes, Nico could feel that familiar feeling of wrongness...shame. Shame, shame, shame...

He didn’t know what to do.

____

So, I had tried to save Bianca, I really did. Like, I had really tried to fight off Dr. Thorn. I really did, man, I really did. So it kind of sucks that in the end the Hunters of Artemis ended up saving our sorry asses, but can I tell you something? Yeah? Okay, they’re a giant band of fearless, flawless immortal beings that have been fighting for hundreds of years, so I’m sure they’d beat an almost-sixteen year old kid any day. And also, can I tell you something else? They had Artemis, a freaking goddess, by their side.

So stop calling me a little wimp. I tried man, I tried.

But I guess it wasn’t that much of a surprise for me when Bianca decided to join the Hunters of Artemis. I mean, come on, they were super cool. They get to hang out with Artemis and receive super cool weapons and they can be immortal. Maybe if I was a girl I would’ve joined their immortal girls-only cult, except for the fact that, guess what, I had a Y chromosome.

So yeah, Bianca joined the Hunters of Artemis. And then she went on a quest to save Artemis. Oh, all of life’s ironies.

____

Nico felt betrayed.

First, Bianca, his lifelong companion and dear sister, decided to leave him for some all-girls club. And the worst thing was, she was immortal. Which probably wasn’t all that bad, but the one thing Nico couldn’t stand was the thought of him, dying, and Bianca wouldn’t even be down in the Underworld, waiting for him. He would never see her again, not really. He’d sit in the Elysian Fields all by himself (hopefully he’d be good enough to get there) without her. Bianca would never come down. She couldn’t die, couldn’t come. And in her giant span of life, if she lived as long as she could, somewhere amongst that time, she would forget Nico. Nico would be gone. She would no longer mourn him, no longer miss him. He would be nothing.

And if that was not enough, Bianca left Nico to go on a quest with her immortal huntress friends. Once again, he was alone, abandoned by his older sister. Sure, Nico didn’t want to be clingy and whiny, and kind of half-understood Bianca needed a life of her own, but still. Why? It was as if she no longer cared about him anymore.

And to top things off, the old feelings were resurfacing again and where those went shame and disgust were always soon to follow. He had been shunned before for having these feelings (shame, shame, shame), how abnormal (shame, shame, shame), he wished they hadn’t come back, but they had. Because Nico thought he had the greenest eyes ever.

____

GODS, why.

WHY, Nico, WHY. Bianca’s thoughts were crashing upon her like waves. Thought after thought after thought after thought, and just like the waves, they never ended, just calmed for a moment. And then they came crashing back, thought after thought after thought after thought, shame and guilt and ambition and selfishness.

And for a short period of time Bianca wished she hadn’t chose the path of the Hunters of Artemis, but had instead stayed behind with Nico at Camp Half Blood. Continued to live the bland life of big sister forever. Never know friends, never know love, but always Nico.

Nico had come to her cabin--Artemis’s cabin--earlier that night and had whined with her nonstop about her decision. Bianca, why now….? Not now….

And why did she do that? Was it to escape being an older sister? No, maybe not. After all, Nico would grow up one day. He wouldn’t need her care anymore, wouldn’t need any big-sister hugs and words of comfort. So maybe it wasn’t that.

But maybe….Bianca paused for a moment, and then closed her eyes and thought again. Maybe it was the immortality. Yes, it was the immortality. Bianca….she thought about death a lot. It scared her. She wondered, sometimes, if she wouldn’t be able to get into the Elysian Fields. Then what? A pointless existence of staring into oblivion….an infinity of meaninglessness….slowly dying away in the land of death….

Oh, all of life’s ironies.

____

This story is kind of going nowhere.

But don’t worry, it knows where it’s heading. Problem is, I don’t know--well, not exactly.

I think I have a clear idea now, and I think I can start telling this story. So enough with the introductions and the ironies and the diddly-dallying, that’s all over. It’s time for the story.

THE FIRST PROMISE:

“I promise to take care of your sister.”

THE SECOND PROMISE:

“I promise, he won’t feel weird at all. I’ll try to understand.”

THE THIRD PROMISE:

“I promise, I’ll call you next week.”

So, this whole story revolves around three promises. I think I’m getting a clearer idea of where this story is headed--which is good, really good. So let’s get started on the first promise, shall we?

____

I was invisible under Annabeth’s Yankees cap when I found Nico spying on his sister Bianca. She was talking to Zoe Nightshade, a fellow Huntress, about how they were going off on a quest to save Artemis.

After awkwardly sidestepping him, I watched Nico quietly. The expression painted on his face was a mixture of concern and worry. And also….fear. Poor guy. I wondered when he would get over his sister.

Nico was about to leave when I stopped him. “Hey,” I said quietly, taking off my cap. Nico flipped around, and his eyes bulged when he saw me. “W-what--”

“It’s okay,” I laughed. “I’ve spied on people before, too.”

But Nico still had an uneasy look in his eyes as he watched me warily. I wondered if it was because of his sister. So I tried my best to reassure him and convince him that Bianca was going to be okay, and that Nico ONE HUNDRED PERCENT COULD NOT GO ON THE QUEST because he was probably going to die.

I guess I thought I was doing a good job, because Nico looked a lot better. A lot less queasy, and confident. So it was definitely a fresh smack in the face when he said, “Do you think you could go on the quest for me?”

I was startled and took a few involuntary steps backwards. I guess Nico must’ve sensed that, because he quickly said with a note of pleading in his voice: “You can turn invisible. You can go! Follow them invisibly. Keep an eye on my sister….Please?”

“Wow, but, Nico, I--”

“You’re planning to go anyway, aren’t you?”

And then Nico looked up at me again, his startling dark eyes filled with bitter emotions, and I realized I couldn’t lie to him. His sister had left him, and he couldn’t watch over her anymore. Of course he wanted me to help. I was the first one he had ever seen come to their rescue, during Dr. Thorn’s attack (even though I failed). So maybe he thought of me as some sort of guardian for Bianca.

So I sputtered, “Yes. I have to find….Annabeth.”

“Wonderful! You can watch over my sister. Promise to keep her safe,” Nico pleaded.

….I owed that much to the kid.

“I promise to keep your sister safe.”

Nico grinned. I’d soon learn to treasure that grin.

____

So, Nico had talked to his hero and got him to promise to take care of his sister. There was this thrill of excitement inside of him, a fun, bubbly mixture of nervousness and exhilaration and happiness and ecstasy. He felt like a soda with mentos, a volcano erupting, a science experiment gone wrong--he felt bursting to the brim with excitement.

The happiness inside him was infinite for now.

But his infinity ended rather quickly.

____

Bianca felt relaxed. Yes, she was going to run off on a quest tomorrow and most likely get killed, but at least she could die in a heroic way instead of dying in her bed as an old geezer.

And Nico. A burden had been lifted for her. He had come into the Artemis cabin earlier and apologized to her. He blabbered endlessly about how he finally understood that Bianca couldn’t be with him forever and had to leave on the quest, yada yada yada, something about moose or meese, and then he stopped. Really, it had been a lot of sappy shit, probably scripted, but Bianca was still glad. After the ceremonial apology, the two settled for a farewell game of Mythomagic.

In which Bianca died, but at the very least….heroically.

____

I think, at the very least, you should know how the quest goes.

I mean, I could recount the whole quest, and maybe fill in a lot of little gaps this story may have--I’m not the best at telling stories, I think--but then this little tale of mine would turn into the fucking Game of Thrones.

So, yeah….no.

But at the very least, I’ll give you the basic information:

  * I had a nightmare about Annabeth.



  * I followed Bianca, Zoe, Thalia, and Grover invisibly on Blackjack, my horse.

  * They finally found out I was following them at the Air and Space Museum.

  * I defeated the Nemean Lion like a boss ass bitch (no no no no it was Zoe, seriously.)

  * Some skeleton warriors attacked us, so we decided the most logical thing to do was ride a giant pig that wanted to kill us.

  * Bianca.

  * **Bianca**.

  * **_Bianca_**.

  * _**Bianca.**_

  * _**BIANCA**_.




____

I think it’s time for the second promise. Let’s get things going, shall we?

____

The first time I really talked to Bianca was sometime before the skeleton warrior/riding the pig event. We talked about dumb little things like rubber toy rats and Hunters and Nico. A lot about Nico. More about Nico than I thought was necessary.

 

____

So the second promise comes somewhere around here.

After that chat with Bianca, we kind of became friends. Well--we were only friends for an afternoon. We were friends the whole ride on the boar. We were friends while the sun was slowly falling. And then Bianca died.

I wish I could make a joke about how she died because she wanted to end our friendship and she hated me so much, hahaha, except for that’s not funny, because I knew exactly why she died.

So about this boar.

____

For the first time, Percy seemed quiet.

Bianca was sitting near the rear end of the boar--but seriously, it was less bumpy--and couldn’t fall asleep. Grover was half awake, gulping down on an espresso. He’d had that coffee the whole time, and the way he had been gulping at it viciously….gods. Bianca seriously doubted there was anything even left in that cup.

But he can eat the coffee cup, she thought to herself, and all was clear.

Zoe was knocked out, dozing next to Thalia. The two looked so similar, and so different….like a circle and a square?

A circle and a square.

And Percy….he was the only one, besides Bianca, awake. He was quiet, gazing sadly into the distance at dead pine trees. Never once had Bianca seen him so quiet. Was he contemplating life, or thinking of Camp Half Blood’s taco lunch?

Taco lunch, but perhaps Percy was more philosophical than Bianca gave him credit for. She scooted over to him and asked, “Whatcha thinking about?”

“Nothing much….” he mumbled, and then slapped his wrist. “Annabeth, a lot. I wonder if she’s doing okay. I’ve had dreams about her, you know.” His gaze never left the trees, but Bianca still felt like his eyes were pointed on her. “And….I just want to see her. In person. Ask her how she’s been doing, save her, hug her….”

Something about Percy felt familiar to Bianca. Of course. That was the way she felt for Nico. She had been a big sister for too long--even with joining the Hunters, she couldn’t put her big-sister instincts behind her. She would always care for Nico.

“I feel that way with Nico, too,” she said after a quiet while.

“Yeah….I guess we’ve all got someone like that. Stars in the dark.”

“You know,” Bianca said quietly, “Nico isn’t a star in the dark. He’s more like rain on a sunny day.”

Percy blinked and said, “Isn’t that a bad thing, though? Rain on a sunny day?”

Bianca sighed and said, “That’s what most people would say, I guess. But it depends on your preference, doesn’t it? What if you prefered rain over sun? And then wouldn’t you be glad?” Bianca laughed a little, and added, “But most people like sunny days. So I guess Nico’s not really the right guy for most people.”

Percy laughed and said, “But I like all days. It’s kind of dumb to hate weather, isn’t it?” And he held out a hand, as if to feel the rain. “Because it’s just weather. You can still have your picnic in the rain, and you can sled the hell out of that hill on a sunny day.”

“But….sledding on a barren hill….”

A cocky grin spread on Percy’s face. “Don’t question what I’ve done before.”

“So are you saying that Nico is the right guy for you?” Bianca could feel herself swelling with excitement, because maybe she was going to give Nico’s secret away, and maybe she shouldn’t tell Percy something that important, but Percy might be the right guy, and wow, Nico might be happy to learn someone would accept him.

“Not really….” Percy faltered. He looked at Bianca carefully, and said, “I mean….I like all weather….but comparing weather with people is kind of inaccurate….” He paused. “Just because I like all weather doesn’t really mean….I like all people.”

Bianca stared at him angrily and said, “It was a metaphor, you know. And you used one too, Mister Stars-in-the-Dark man.”

Percy half-smiled, and said, “I guess neither of us were meant to be poets.”

“Nope, and I think you’re being a bit of a jerk right now. What do you have against Nico?” Bianca asked, her voice louder and more cracked than she wanted it to be. Still standing up for Nico, still his white knight, still fighting. Shame, shame, shame.

“N--nothing!’ he stuttered, raising his arms as if to placate her, “he’s just a bit annoying sometimes, I guess.”

Bianca shook her head. “You’ve just got to get past the Mythomagic part. Sometimes he talks about other things, you know.”

Percy shrugged. “I don’t mean the Mythomagic part….I’m okay with that. It’s just that he teased me endlessly about Annabeth while we were still at camp….gods, it was so annoying.”

Bianca stared out into the scenery, which had changed from dead pine trees to a few scattered apple trees and abandoned warehouses. Thalia and Zoe snored loudly in the background, and Grover muttered, “Pan….come to me. Come to me….” The boar moaned and groaned, his hooves plodding heavily on the ground.

Bianca let the noises take her over before she finally said, “He’s a kid. He’s ten. He’s new to relationships and love, like the boyfriend-girlfriend thing. Of course he’s going to tease you about it. Just cut him some slack.”

Technically, Bianca was telling the truth. Nico was kind-of new to the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing. He had seen them, but he had never experienced the feeling. He couldn’t. He had another kind of love.

“I’m not cutting him slack just because he’s ten,” Percy replied. “I’ve told him to stop. He’s annoying and he acts weird around me, and he’s really not my type of guy.” He laid down on the boar and stared at the starless sky and said, “I know he’s your brother, but don’t you think your love is blinding you? You just let him act this way because he’s your brother?”

At this Bianca lost it and she knew she shouldn’t give away Nico’s secret because it wasn’t hers to tell but she needed to, and Percy needed to know, and she couldn’t hold it back anymore, and Percy was just being such an asshole right now, and just

“I let him act this way because he’s gay!” Bianca screamed at the top of her lungs. “Because back….back then….” And then Bianca stopped for a second, because back then, the time before she was stuck inside the hotel, that time….it seemed like decades ago, not months ago. Back then….

“Back then….” Bianca continued. “....It wasn’t….”

Percy was sitting upright now, his green eyes a tempest. What was flurrying in there? “Yeah, I know what you mean….” he mumbled silently. “Yeah.”

____

Nico was gay.

Oh.

How was I supposed to react?

This was so much shoved at me….all at once.

Too much to handle.

But then again, why?

Someone being gay shouldn’t be too much to handle.

Just like someone being straight

Or liking someone

Isn’t way too much to handle.

But why?

How was I supposed to react?

And….

I never expected Nico to be gay.

But don’t take that badly, because

I never really expected him to be straight, either.

I thought….

Well, he was such an immature little boy, addicted to some dumb trading card game, and still clingy to his older sister….in that stage, I thought he would still be one of those kids that believed in cooties.

So he was gay.

He knew love, relationships.

He was a lot more serious

and mature

than I thought,

oh.

____

Bianca could see it in Percy’s eyes.

He was the only one who knew, besides her, about this truth, and there he was, just sitting there, dumbfounded and silent. His eyes were fogged with concern. A sea before storm.

And he didn’t say anything. Not that Bianca really wanted him to--all he would offer were fake words of concern, a boo-hoo i’m so sorry that he’s gaaay. That wouldn’t make it any better. In fact, that was really more degrading. Sorry? Sorry that he was gay? Sorry? Sure, that was something to be sorry about.

But a storm before sea. That’s not something you stick around for.

____

Nico felt a jab in him, in the back of his mind. It was like a sixth  sense. You know how people say when you sneeze it’s because somebody’s talking about you?

Well, Nico got these random pokes in his mind, that usually meant someone was talking about him. Maybe saying mean things about him, like how much they hated him, how they thought they could beat him up and laugh at him.

But this time Nico felt it was much more serious.

____

I put my head in my hands. Why couldn’t I just understand? Bianca got up and said, “It’s okay. We can always talk again later.”

But I didn’t want to stop talking now. Not when I had this. I wanted to talk to her about Nico now. I wanted to talk about how I understood. I wanted to talk to her, and tell her that I could accept him. I wasn’t scared. I wanted to talk to her and say comforting words and make her feel better about Nico. I wanted to talk to her and say

i

can

help.

Except I couldn’t, I really couldn’t. I didn’t know if I understood. I didn’t know if I could accept Nico now--this was so weird, so new to me. I had never known someone gay. I knew people were gay, but….I had never known someone gay, so I had just assumed that there were only

small

small

small

numbers of gay men out there. I had assumed that because I didn’t know them, they weren’t there...they were like a strange, exotic species to me. I had been informed of them. But I had never seen one in the flesh…

And I was scared, was scared of this. People are scared of new things, and we’re scared of change. But it’s inevitable, this fear of ours. This was new, this was a change from what I knew. What I knew was what I was taught in school. The real things….they’re never taught in schools. They’re real because you learned them on your own, through tough blood, mistakes and sacrifices.

I closed my eyes and wrapped my hands around my head, and swayed a bit on the boar. “Bianca, just…” I sputtered.

I could hear Bianca fiddling with her zipper next to me. Zip, zip, zip. “Just what?” she asked quietly. “Just what?”

“Just help me understand. Please. I’m so scared.”

There was an unholy pause, before Bianca finally said, “You sound like you’re in a horror movie.” I could feel a fake grin creeping up on her face, a grin trying to hide this serious matter with a little joke. I knew she didn’t want to talk about it, but I needed to know now….while I still had her in my clutches….

“Please. Tell me.” Percy released his face from his hands and looked Bianca square in the eye. “This is all I want. Please, I’m begging you. I’ll be the first one to die on this quest, I know it. Please. Tell me.”

Bianca was stared at her boot zipper, and played around with it some more before she whispered, “You know, I shouldn’t have told you in the first place.”

“Why?”

“Because, you’re….you know….you.”

I bit my lip to keep from screaming at Bianca. What was wrong with me? Of course I couldn’t handle it right now, she had just told me.

Duh.

“But just help me understand.”

“....Sure.”

“Thank you.”

____

When Nico first confessed to Bianca, she had spilled hot chocolate all over her sweater. Then Nico just began to scream, it was unholy screams, ohmygod, it pierced Bianca’s ears and nearly shattered the glass, and gosh no, Nico was just screaming and flinging out and he was throwing whatever he could see, and no how the fuck did this happen, the lamp broke and the power sizzled and the two were left in the dark, save for the light from the hallway outside.

And Nico said, “This is what it looked like when I was stuck in the closet.”

Then he ran out of their small room, and somehow managed to turn off the lights in the hallway, because when he came back, it was darker than ever. “This is what it looks like now that I’ve come out.”

“What are you trying to explain, Nico?” Bianca whispered quietly. She could hear neighbors shuffling outside, wondering what had turned the lights off. Nightrobes, hot chocolate, last decade’s newspaper in hand.

“All I’m trying to say is,” Nico said, “is that it was clearer when I was stuck inside. I come out, and look what I’m greeted with. Shock, confusion, disapproval. It was a lot better before.”

“In the dark?” Bianca asked.

“This is darker.”

“Okay….” Bianca mumbled. She wasn’t quite sure what Nico was trying to tell her--she hadn’t really disapproved him or shunned him, she had just spilled her hot chocolate in shock. “But….it’s okay, Nico. Jeez. I’m not going to, like, disown you or anything.”

Bianca heard some shuffling and a door open, and in a few seconds the lights were back on again. The nightrobes, hot chocolate, last decade’s newspaper, they all went back to their rooms.

Nico sat down on the couch and stared blankly at the T.V., which the two had never turned on. “I just don’t want to die for this, Bianca,” Nico whispered at the remote control.

“It’s okay,” Bianca ruffled Nico’s hair. “I’m sure the world is getting better….”

“Without us?” Nico asked. And then in a few long strides he walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains, which revealed nothing but an empty, starless sky. A rhythmic, pulsing glow came from somewhere beneath the window, but no matter how the two craned their necks, they would never be able to see where it came from. “Bianca, don’t you ever wonder….?”

Bianca clamped a hand over Nico’s mouth. “Not now, Nico, shut up,” she hissed. “Don’t you remember what happened to dear old Mister Rogers when he asked? You don’t ask about out there, about outside, you don’t ask, Nico.” Bianca turned Nico towards her and looked him square in the eye. “You don’t ask, because all the answers you need to know are in here.”

“Okay, okay….” Nico mumbled. “But I just wonder….you can tell the people here, they’re homophobic, they would hate me, torture me, tease me, avoid me….you can tell. And this outside….I don’t know, I’d like to think it’s different, it’s better out there.”

“Nico, just shut up,” Bianca sighed. “It doesn’t matter what goes on out there. You don’t know about out there. Remember that, Nico.”

“Why doesn’t this hotel want us to know about outside, anyways?” Nico mused. “Even if it’s bad out there….and they’re trying to protect us….”

“Nico, please.”

“Fine….but I swear, one day I’m going to turn my back on this hotel and find out this outside for myself….and I’ll merge. If I, a gay man, am accepted as a whole….”

“You’ll stay,” Bianca said.

“And if not, I’ll find a way to merge into the crowd and become another nameless face.”

“You’ve got big plans for the future, don’t you, Nico?”

“Somewhat.”

____

“The first time,” Percy said quietly.

“Yup,” Bianca replied, her finger absentmindedly drawing circles on the boar’s back. Circle and a square, circle and a square, same but different around the corners. Rectangle and an oval, rectangle and an oval, same but different around the corners.

“All he ever wanted was to be accepted, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah….” Bianca replied. “So he adopted an interest into a card game that everybody else loved at the time, so he could fit right in. He went to Westover Hall--and stayed, too, he never listened to my ideas about leaving--to make friends, and be like everyone else. And--get this--one year he grew his hair out, maybe like two or three inches, trying to be like everyone else.” Bianca snorted.

Percy laughed a little. “Heh, wow….just imagining Nico like that….mind blown.”

“Yeah,” said Bianca, smiling. “And see, this is what I need you to know about Nico. He’s not just some gay kid, and that’s not the only thing you can focus on. Don’t worry about him because he’s gay, he’s just like the rest of us. He’ll make mistakes, he’ll have triumphs, he’ll fall in love, he’ll suffer, he’ll be happy….and all those times, I want you to be able to help him, to put him back on his feet. I don’t want you to pity him because he’s gay, or try to act empathetic to him because he’s gay. Don’t. Do what you would do to a normal person, even if that means killing him.”

“Uh….” I stuttered.

“Okay, yeah, I guess that’s kind of extreme,” Bianca smiled. “But I’m just saying….”

“Yeah, I know. Treat him like any average Joe.”

“Something like that.” Bianca smiled again, but this time more to herself. She had got this secret, this burden out, she had explained it  all to someone who actually seemed to understand. Crazy. And now that all this was done, she just wanted to take a nap and let the sleep rush over her. She wanted to lose herself from this world.

____

“Bianca, get the hell up before we throw you off this boar!”

Bianca jolted awake and stared into Zoe’s startling eyes. “Uh, yeah, up now, rise and….shine?” It was nighttime, dark outside. A few stars glimmered here and there, but otherwise the sky was empty. There was a vast expanse of land set out before them, empty and lifeless save for a few saguaro cacti and a few scattered dry grass blades. The boar had stopped, perhaps for a rest break, and seemed to be….

“Yuck,” Bianca said as a loud plooop sound emerged from somewhere near the boar’s rear end. “Yuck yuck yuck.”

“Exactly,” Zoe rolled her eyes. “But the smell couldn’t even wake you up….how quaint.”

Thalia snorted. “Quaint? That’s so nineteenth-century, Zoe--it’s called ‘weird’ nowadays.”

Zoe paused for a second and stared at the sky. “What a quaint word,” she mumbled while Thalia rolled her eyes out of her head in the background.

“Uh, so, where is this?” Bianca asked before Zoe and Thalia could start World War III. “Arizona or something?”

“I think so….” Grover mumbled from somewhere a bit too close to the boar’s business pile. “Where else would you find such beautiful wilderness like this….” he turned around “....mixed with hideous human trash?”

Bianca whirled around and noticed a giant pile of scrap metal and other discarded junk. Something silver glistened near the top of the pile, and Bianca ran towards it.

“No, Bianca--don’t!” Zoe screamed out, but Bianca had already clambered to the top of the pile and picked up the fascinating silver object. It was a butterfly pin, adorned with fake little jewels. Bianca tossed it around in her hand a little, and it became a giant Hunter’s bow, a little rusty on the sides but otherwise so perfect.

“Zoe, isn’t this the coolest thing ever?” Bianca squealed.

“NO!” Zoe and Thalia screamed together. Bianca laughed at their contorted expressions and strange agreement, and stumbled a little on the large pile of trash, unbalanced by the huge force of their screams. The scraps gave way beneath her feet and she toppled into a huge hole of junk, screaming.

 

____

When the time comes, it will be best to give your life away.

“Why? I--and what about Nico….”

You went on this quest to avoid being a big sister, correct?

“That doesn’t mean I want to die to avoid being a big sister….jeez, talk about taking something to the next level. It’s not that extreme. I’ll always be a big sister….this is just like a temporary break, I guess.”

But if anyone else dies….

“We won’t succeed?”

Yes.

“What about goat boy?”

If he dies, his friend Percy will surely be miserable. And I don’t think you’d want that to happen to your friend now, would you?

“Percy still has Annabeth….what makes you think he would be so miserable?”

Friends are more important than love, and sometimes oneself. Bianca, aren’t they your friends?

“I barely know them….”

Bianca, I know you volunteered for this quest mainly as an opportunity to get away from your brother for a short while. Which is understandable, but you have forgotten the main purpose of a quest:

“Which is….?”

To reach the end destination.

“Yeah, I didn’t really forget that….”

And win.

“I’m well aware of that too….”

To win you must make sacrifices.

“You don’t have to. We’ll play it safe. No lives lost.”

Your time is short. In order to reach your destination in time, and to win….I believe you will have to make some sacrifices. Bianca, I am not telling you to worthlessly throw away your life. What I am saying is that I want you to give yourself up for the group. Bianca, a quest….it’s not the time to be selfish. You should’ve been prepared from the very minute you signed up to give your life away.

“....You’re telling me this is necessary, right?”

It is, as long as you want the quest to progress and for your friends to save Annabeth and Artemis. It is, as long as you want to maintain your pride and dignity. Go back on a failed quest, and you will be shamed and looked down upon. Nothing will hit harder than failure, and when everyone you know will turn their backs on you and turn away from your gaze. They won’t want to be part of your life. But die now and die in the noblest way. Die for success. Live for failure.

“Uh, yeah. Sacrifice. RIGHT. So, um, when’s my special sacrifice time?”

You will know when it is time.

“Great, I don’t even get a specific time. And if this time happens to pass me by, oh fuck, we’re all going to fail, aren’t we? Thanks. Thanks a lot.”

You’re quite welcome, Bianca di Angelo.

“Uh….”

____

When we finally pulled Bianca out of the junk pile, she just looked at me for a long time, and then gave Grover, Thalia and Zoe a quick glance each. Her expression seemed solemn, but I could tell her hands were trembling.

I wasn’t new to this. I knew something had happened down there. Obviously, Bianca wouldn’t tell me, but the way things were going….after all, in quest, someone always….and the prophecy….

Oh fuck, the prophecy.

We had to get out of here.

But the boar had already lumbered off long before, and from the sleep-deprived looks on Thalia, Zoe, and Grover’s faces, I knew they couldn’t possibly take it anymore. A drive out of here--if we managed to get a car--would be impossible to stay awake through. There were surely going to be accidents.

So we needed a rest break here….no, but I couldn’t just leave them all here….no, not with the prophecy. And judging on what I guessed had happened to Bianca down in the trash pile (this probably sounds pretty weird out of context, doesn’t it?), I couldn’t leave her here. No, not after all that she told me. Not with that kind of burden….

But I couldn’t die either. She had trusted me enough to tell me all about Nico’s situation. Killing myself would be meaningless….I would have to find someone else to die in this land without rain….

But how could I convince them? Not Grover, not when he’s so close to finding Pan. And that would just be cruel. Like, who would try to kill their best friend?

Not Zoe, either. Definitely not. She was the wisest of us all. She had more wisdom of monsters and gods than we did, so Zoe had to live. She also knew Artemis best, so when the time came, she would probably be best at rescuing Artemis. Not only that, she was basically the leader of our group. Without her, we’d be kind of lost, with no idea in which direction to head….she was the only one with a clear path in mind.

Thalia….if I couldn’t convince her to give me some of her fries, there would be no way she would die for me.

But could I maybe flaunt the prophecy? No, trying to outsmart it would be impossible….and even if it did manage to work, it would probably bring even more misfortune upon us all.

So….even though I didn’t want to….I suppose I had to die. Better than having Bianca die.

After all, we came on this quest with one thing in mind: the final destination. And if I didn’t die now, I would only bar it.

I pulled Bianca aside, took a deep breath, and said, “Bianca, I know--”

“Percy,” she said, pushing me away from her. “I know that you’ve damn figured out what happened down there. And I know you’ve thought it through, and you’ve decided the best choice is to die for the group.”

“Yes,” I said, gritting my teeth. I couldn’t let Bianca sway me now. It was set.

“But the lady down in the trash pile--she talked to me, not to you,” Bianca said. “And no matter what you’ve got for me, that’s the best damn reason there is and you can’t change it.”

Then she walked off, leaving me in the dust.

____

The alarm clock said 2:35 a.m. when Nico began to scream.

He threw his blankets and his pillows and his stinky socks and whatever he could find over his head and just began screaming. His throat hurt and his lungs ached and god his head hurt like hell, but he just kept screaming and screaming and screaming.

Chiron came in two times to tell Nico to calm down, but the screams grew louder with each visit. Eventually Chiron dumped Nico with the Oracle, where Nico continued to scream.

Stop that.

Nico sat up with a startle, but there was no one in the room with him. Except for the Oracle, who looked dead as ever. So he fell back into his blankets and continued to scream at the top of his lungs. “AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!”

I said, stop that. Look me in the eye and stop that.

Nico sat up again and looked at the Oracle. Her eyes were bright green, pulsing with a slow energy.

Nico scrambled back across the floor, knocking down a few lamps and falling against a cabinet. “You….can talk?”

The Oracle seemed to be rolling its eyes. Obviously. How else would I give prophecies?

“No, not like that….I mean, you can hear me? And you can….respond to my screaming?”

Somewhat. Now what were you howling about? I’ve never heard a scream like that since someone rippled Narcissus’s reflection eons ago.

“It’s just….sometimes I….I don’t know how to explain it. My head just really hurts sometimes and I have a sick feeling in my gut, and occasionally I even get dreams. I just feel like something really bad is happening, and….” Nico sighed, “Bianca isn’t here to help me with it.”

It’s very common for this to happen to heroes, you know.

“Heroes….?” Nico mumbled. “I can’t be a hero, can I? I wasn’t good enough for the quest….”

A faint trace of a smile played on the Oracle’s lips. Nico, your Mythomagic game….

“Yeah?”

The only hero figurine you’re missing is the Hercules card, isn’t it?

“Do you have one?”

I do. He stands in front of me, not realizing that he is the missing hero in the game.

“Uh, wow, thanks….that’s nice of you, but really, I’m no hero. I’m just….a loser.” Nico flopped on his back and stared at the dusty ceiling. “And I don’t want to be a hero. I just want to go back to the good old days with….”

Nico trailed off. He had wanted to talk about the days with Bianca in the casino, but suddenly that seemed like so long ago….decades ago, even….

“My sense of time feels really warped up,” he muttered.

So you’re learning.

“What?” Nico asked. “Is there something you know that I don’t?”

I know everything that you don’t. And the Lotus Casino….ask Chiron about the Lotus Eaters.

“Lotus Eaters?”

Yes, ask Chiron about them.

“Um, okay….” Nico picked up his blankets and got up to leave. After a few steps, though, he stopped and looked back at the Oracle:

“Hey, can you tell me why I’ve been feeling so bad today? There’s a reason for this, that I’m sure of. I’m just scared that….I don’t know, maybe it has something to do with Bianca. So, can you tell me….why I’m feeling so uncomfortable and sick?”

The pulse in the Oracle’s eyes slowed down. Sorry. Then the green glow disappeared completely.

____

I caught up to Bianca talking to Zoe and Thalia. I wanted to pull her away again and try to smack some sense into her, but she kept sidestepping me and turning to Thalia to talk endlessly about Taco Bell’s new chicken taco.

Zoe was flipping through an outdated 1980’s road atlas. “I’d say our next stop would be….Los Angeles. I think the monster may be coming from there.”

“NO!!” screamed Bianca. “Not there….not….”

Thalia and Zoe arched an eyebrow, but Grover and I turned to each other instantly and nodded. Bianca had mentioned staying at a hotel with Nico before….and Los Angeles….it had to be….

“Hey, Bianca,” I said. She quickly turned away from me, probably expecting an assault of reasons as to why I should die, so I nudged Grover to explain.

“Bianca,” he said, “did you ever stay at a hotel, called….oh, I don’t know, something along the lines of The Lotus Casino?”

“Yes….yeah,” she mumbled. “Yeah, I think so….”

“This can’t be good,” I muttered.

“Uh, Bianca,” Grover said. “I’m going to put this in the mildest way I can, but the Lotus Casino….time goes by faster in there. So you could think you’d only been in the hotel for two years, but in reality, two hundred years would have already passed and you would be an old granny.”

“No,” Bianca said, her eyes wild with fear. “No, no, no….” She put her hands over her head and started shaking viciously. “No, no!!!”

“Bianca, calm down,” Zoe said. “A level head is what you need in this situation. Let me just ask you this: Who’s the president of the United States?”

Bianca rolled her eyes. “FDR. Franklin Delano Roosevelt.”

Thalia, Grover and I glanced at each other, each of our faces etched with worry. “Yeah, no,” said Thalia. “FDR….that was seventy years ago.”

“No,” Bianca screamed. “NONONO!!! It can’t be, it can’t possibly be….then Nico and I would be, what, eighty-something years old?”

“Kind of,” Grover said. “But hey, at least you don’t look eighty! Huh? Huh? Okay then. Just trying to lighten up the mood.”

“Fuck….” Bianca whispered.

“This shit is REAL!!!!” Thalia screamed, which of course made us all laugh, while Grover protested in the background that his joke had to be five times funnier. We were so immature and simple.

____

“Nico, don’t come to my office unless you’ve calmed down.”

“I am calm, Chiron, I swear.”

“Good, Nico. Then come on in and tell me what you want.” Chiron ushered Nico in and let him sit down on one of those twirly office chairs. Nico rolled around while Chiron made tea for the two of them. After a few minutes, Chiron finally asked, “Nico, I know you didn’t come here just to spin around on my chair.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Nico said. “I want to ask you who the Lotus Eaters are.”

Chiron set the tea kettle down with such a deafening clang that it made Nico--who, by the way, was screaming at the top of his lungs just a while ago--clutch his ears in pain. “I hoped you would never ask me about them….” Chiron mumbled. He bunched his eyebrows together and asked, “Nico, who mentioned the Lotus Eaters to you?”

“The Oracle,” Nico replied innocently.

“No, no, no, no!!!!” Chiron roared. “Oh, she shouldn’t be talking about that! I didn’t want you to find out ‘til….ugh….” Chiron fell into his chair and gripped his head tightly with his hands. “Uuuugh….”

“But who are they?” Nico asked. He tilted his head to the side a bit and asked, “Are they evil? Who are they?”

Chiron shook his head. “Looks like I have no choice but to answer….” he muttered. “The Lotus Eaters…have you ever heard of The Odyssey?”

“Oh, yeah,” Nico said. “Bianca had to read that once, I think.”

“There were these groups of men, called Lotus Eaters, and in the story, they lived on a little island where beautiful lotuses grew.”

“Sounds nice,” Nico interrupted.

“It’s not supposed to,” Chiron growled. “Anyways, the men would eat the lotuses.”

That’s mean, Nico thought to himself.

“The thing about the lotuses was that if you ate one, you would never want to go home. You would want to stay in the land of the Lotus Eaters forever, eating lotuses and enjoying yourself every day, till you died.”

“Oh,” said Nico. “And….?”

“And that’s it. That’s all the Oracle needs me to tell you, I’m sure. Think, Nico. Think. Does this remind you of anything? Hm? Does it?”

Nico bit his lip. It reminded him of something, it did, but--no, no….

“The Lotus Casino,” Nico whispered. “That was so….long ago….”

Chiron nodded. “How long do you think you stayed there, Nico? Two years? Maybe three?”

And once again there was that strange sensation of being out of loop with time. “I don’t know….” Nico whispered, clutching the seat tightly. “I really….don’t know….”

“Nico, tell me this: what’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen all day?”

Nico was quiet for a moment before he said, “The skinny screens. The skinny screens that are small and have….things connected to them that go click-click-click.”

“The computer?” Chiron asked. “Skinny screens….ah, you are quite out of time. But yes. Anything else?”

Nico shrugged. “The skinnier, bigger tellies that don’t have dials. It’s funny, but a lot can happen in….a few….years.”

“Ah, that too? Nico, tell me: as a boy in the hotel, did you like to watch the TV at all?”

“A lot, actually.”

“What did you like to watch, Nico?”

Nico thought for a moment. “Well, I don’t know. I think Charlie Chaplin was funny. But I liked to watch the Wizard of Oz a lot. So did Bianca.”

Chiron nodded to himself, and then quietly left the room. A few minutes later he came back with a calendar in his hand. “Nico,” he said, “before I show you this lovely calendar with beautiful pictures of flowers, I want you to tell me what year you think it is.”

“Is this some sort of trick question?” Nico asked. “It’s probably 1940 or something….who knows, I’m kind of out of it.”

“1940….okay,” said Chiron. He placed the calendar down on the table and said, “Look at this beautiful picture of a marigold.”

“Uh….yeah….But I thought we were talking about lotuses….”

“We were, and we still are,” Chiron said. “Now look at the numbers underneath the marigold.”

“2007.”

“Right. What do you think those numbers mean? A proof of purchase, a favorite number, or--maybe even--the year?”

Nico’s eyes grew wide as he stared at the calendar in front of him. His hands trembled as he picked it up and looked it over. “No….” he mumbled. “No….”

“Do you see the connection now?” Chiron asked. “The Lotus Eaters….the Lotus Casino….”

“NO!” Nico yelled. “No! This is….this is some kind of sick joke….”

Chiron grabbed Nico by the shoulders. “No, Nico. It’s the truth. Stop. Stop. Calm down. Look me in the eye.” Nico felt the grip on his shoulders tighten, so he stopped thrashing about and stared at Chiron’s big bushy eyebrows instead.

“Look, I didn’t want the Oracle to tell you about this so early. But she did, and I really wish I could’ve prevented it. But you have the knowledge now. Nico. It’s okay. This cheat against time won’t have any negative effects on you: no early death, no hallucinations, no mutations….”

“Okay,” said Nico with a slight hiccup. “Okay.”

“Good,” Chiron said. “Look, you can stay in the Hermes cabin for today. If you want, you can come out for dinner and lunch, but you’ll find a few snacks in the drawer by the second bed.” Chiron winked. “Well, that’s what Travis and Connor told me.”

____

Bianca could feel Percy’s eyes on her. She started to wonder if she should back down from her act of courage, and just let him take over. She couldn’t take this pressure….No, no. She pinched herself hard on the arm and brought herself back. No, she couldn’t do that. She would fail them.

As the group wandered around the desert, searching for a nice place to stay the night, Bianca hopped from junk pile to junk pile, half hoping to be swallowed again by the mysterious voice, but also just having fun.

As she was hopping around, Bianca noticed something.

It wasn’t shiny. It wasn’t large. It wasn’t sharp. It didn’t smell like dog poop.

But she noticed it.

____

Nico was in the Hermes cabin, wiping his face with some cheap-ass tissues. Come on, Travis and Connor should have at least stolen some decent Kleenex tissues… Nico thought sullenly to himself. The sun was at its zenith, and the inside of the cabin was sweltering with the heat and the smell of week-old combat socks.

Lunch had been brought to Nico an hour ago, but it remained on the desk, untouched. He wasn’t in the mood for eating. Truth was, he had that same horrid feeling he had experienced earlier, but he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Was it really his sixth sense acting up again? Or was it just the after-effects of his surprising discovery?

Whatever it was, Nico decided it would be best to ignore it. He didn’t want to get Chiron mad again, and get kicked out of Camp….no, especially not when he had learned about all those terrifying monsters out there….

But with that nagging sense tugging at the back of his head, Nico couldn’t focus. He tried to sing a song, but the tune got all distorted and ended up sounding more like a scream for help. He tried to read a book, but the only words he could see on the page were: Trouble’s approaching. He tried to watch some sloth videos, but he couldn’t focus. Heck, he was desperate enough to pull out Siana’s yoga mat and try some Tai Chi.

Nothing helped, though, and he ended up feeling more and more frantic.

Oh, why hadn’t he gone on the quest with Bianca….?

____

I knew Bianca was determined to be the one to die. But so was I. In the end, it would be a race to see who could get to the coffin first.

Okay, yeah, I know, pretty morbid. What’s the point in a race like that? But….I couldn’t have her die, I really couldn’t.

I walked on ahead, while Bianca hopped around on the trash piles like a little kid. She seemed totally carefree and innocent, like she had forgotten the heavy burden that had just been laid upon her.

We had just reached an area that had been deemed an okay rest stop when the ground started rumbling beneath our feet. Zoe and Grover toppled to the floor immediately, and Thalia had the bad luck to land on top of a cactus. Bianca tripped and fell face first into some sand, but miraculously, I still remained standing.

I steadied my feet and tried to grip onto the ground with my toes when I heard some sounds coming from the distance. WHIIIIIIR…...CLAAAAAANNNNKKKKK…..BZZZZZZZTTTT…….

“Wow,” Thalia muttered. “Who could be playing dubstep at this hour….?”

I would’ve laughed, except for the fact that right then and there, I realized exactly what was playing dubstep. And honestly, it wasn’t really playing dubstep….it was more or less….

Coming alive.

I ran to Zoe and hid behind her. “What is that thing?” I whimpered.

She crumpled her eyebrows and then screamed, “All right! Who took something!”

“Not me,” Thalia grunted. “I wouldn’t take anything from this junky junkyard.”

“Me neither!” Grover yelled, his voice somewhat muffled by the sand in his mouth. “This kind of trash disrupts nature, y’know!”

“I didn’t!” I screamed. “But then that leaves….”

We all turned to Bianca, who was lying dangerously close to the giant. “I….I didn’t….” Bianca panted. “I swear I….didn’t….”

That’s what she claimed, but one look in her eyes gave it all away. I could see the guilt and the fear swimming beneath the surface of her eyes, out there for all to see….

“NO!” Zoe screamed. “You did, Bianca, you did! The trained eye of a Hunter could spot a lie like that from a mile away, you DID, Bianca, you did!”

The ground beneath us began shaking even more violently than before. The noises became louder, and it was hard to focus. Black spots started appearing at the edges of my eyes, and with Bianca and the….thing’s screaming combined, I feared that I was going deaf.

Bianca screamed and covered her ears. “What did you take, wretch, what did you take?” Zoe yelled. “Did you take the pretty butterfly pin you so adored? Huh? Did you?!”

“NO, I didn’t!” Bianca yelled. Her eyes were clenched shut and she had her hands over her ears, but I could tell she was seeing and hearing everything more vividly than the rest of us.

“Tell us, Bianca! What did you take? No, that’s not important--why did you take it?! This is the junkyard of the gods! Everything thrown here--it’s cursed, it’s broken, it’s defected!” Zoe shrieked at Bianca. “When I told you not to take anything--I wasn’t kidding around!”

Bianca screamed, and I noticed that the thing--no, I could see what it was now--was starting to rise up. I could see its bare outline, but if one thing was clear, it was the glowing red eyes.

It was a robot, and only one god could make a robot like that.

Hephaestus.

It was a robot of Hephaestus.

____

Bianca noticed the robot, too. She could see it approaching them quickly, each of its huge steps covering the more and more distance till….

This was it. She knew it. This was her time.

Bianca jumped up from where she had been lying down. The shaking had subsided, and it was a lot easier to balance now. She ran up to the robot, and took one fleeting glance back.

“NO!” Percy screamed, desperately trying to run up to Bianca. “NO, Bianca, come back….”

Bianca looked at the dark sky and the bright stars. “From darkness there is light,” she mumbled to herself, and plunged straight into the robot control center. But before doing so, she screamed out over her shoulder,

“Promise! Promise me you’ll understand, and help him understand! Remember!”

And then she was gone.

____

I saw Bianca. She had been standing right next to the foot of the robot.

But then she disappeared.

But somehow, after she disappeared, I still heard her. I could hear her small voice, calling out to me--only me--and I heard….she said….

She said for me to promise. Promise that I would understand….and that he would, too….

I collapsed onto the ground in a pathetic heap and began sobbing. I felt my wet tears trickle onto the dry desert sand. “I promise….” I blubbered through my tears. “I promise…. he won’t feel weird….at all….I’ll….underst….and….”

Zoe came over and stood next to me. “Percy, get up. Let’s go. Don’t waste your time here and kill us all. I mean, Bianca….” Zoe turned toward the giant robot. “She might die in that thing. Don’t let her death be in vain.”

“Zoe,” I sobbed. “She’s going to die….I know it….the prophecy….” I covered my face with my hands. In shame. Shame. “Why couldn’t it have been me….instead….instead of her….”

“No,” Zoe said. “She is a Hunter, noble and brave. I know….only she could complete the task. Only she.”

“Hurry up!!!” Grover screamed. “That robot….it looks like it’s coming closer!!”

Would Bianca….

Would she throw away her life and fail?

I choked back my last sob and ran after my friends, into the endless desert night.

____

First came the pain. It was the pain in his head. It pummeled at his brain and tossed his heart all around his chest. Then came the other pain. It was the pain on his skins. Cuts appeared out of once milky smooth skin, and purplish bruises started popping up on once pale spots of skin.

Nico wanted to scream. But he bit down on his blankets instead and kept the pain to himself.

The hell’s going on….? he wondered. A few slivers of moonlight shone through the window. Nico watched quietly as shadows began to emerge and cover the moonlight.

 

____

ow

white lights oh it hurt a lot white lights in front of her eyes had she seen these lights before

were these citylights were these tellylights oh had she seen

these lights before

they were so

pretty

they were like stars when was the last time she had seen stars anyways

oh they were so pretty the blinding lights the white the white the white the red

the red

button

button

you’re supposed to press a button

that’s right

put your hand on it

down

press hard

good

ha

that was so easy

could she leave

did she want to leave the white lights though

she could hear it

sounds

falling

crushing

oh it all fell on top of her

the metal

the burdens

of promises too

oh but it didn’t hurt at all it didn’t hurt it felt like nothing it felt like

death

was that where she belonged

death

____

The robot stopped in front of us and toppled backwards, his feet kicking up an awful load of sand.

We all coughed, and Grover choked out a hairball. “Hey,” he said. “Shouldn’t we go look for Bianca or something?”

“I’ll do it,” said Thalia. Zoe looked up at her with concern on her face. “You might--”

“It’s okay,” Thalia smirked. “I’ve died before….kind of. I don’t know. But I know if anything happens….I’ll just turn into a pine tree again!”

“In the middle of a desert?!” Grover shrieked. “But….how will you get water….?”

Thalia thought for a moment. “Okay, maybe my plan isn’t the best. But I just wanna go see, y’know? I wanna see Bianca again. Could be nice. Like, I want my face to be the first thing Bianca sees when she gets out.”

Zoe smiled a bit and let her go.

She won’t be able to see your face.

I knew she was dead. Prophecies were never wrong. But….there was hope in me. Maybe they meant another desert. Maybe they didn’t….maybe it was….

“GUYS! PLEASE! COME QUICK!!”

….right.

We all rushed over to Thalia, who stood beside the giant robot. “Guys,” she whispered, even though no one was around, “so, I figured, Bianca would be going for the control room. And the control room, it would obviously be in the robot tummy….”

We all laughed a bit, even though we knew how serious this was. Tummy. What a nice word.

Thalia giggled and continued. “So I checked here, right? And….just look at this….”

We all looked at the robot tummy, and I wanted to throw up. There had been a huge cave-in, and a ton of scrap metal had fallen into the robot tummy. There was no way….she couldn’t have had survived that….

I cried, and watched as my silvery tears faded into the machinery.

Little by little, I could feel the metal start to rust beneath me.

So quickly.

As if the robot was crying for the life of Bianca, too.

____

white lights

lots of them

pretty

blinding

pretty

____

“Nico, I’m going to fucking beat you up if you don’t tell me why you’re here in the next ten seconds.”

Nico had been waiting outside the Ares cabin since six. He had brought a sleeping bag, two books, some Mythomagic figures, and a sock. Not a pair, just one. Clarisse had bumped into him on her way out to breakfast and asked him what he was doing, but he just stared at his sock.

“Okay,” he said. He looked up at her and then back at the sock. “Isn’t this sock a bit funky?”

“I know you did not camp out in front of the Ares cabin for that.”

“You’re right. I didn’t. Truth is….” Nico got up. “I want to fight you.”

“What?!” Clarisse spluttered. She was used to fighting--yes, of course she was, she was daughter of Ares, how could she not….but when was the last time someone had directly challenged her….?

“Yes,” Nico continued. “I hear you’re their top dog.”

Nobody had challenged her like this….not even the mighty Percy Jackson (no he wasn’t mighty what was she saying he was a scrawny imp)....why would a gangly, skinny little kid like this dirtbag come and challenge her….

“I think it would be nice to fight you. Trust me, I’ve never fought anyone before….fighting you would just clear up some of my, ah, confusions.”

Gangly, skinny little dirtbag….

She was gonna beat him into pulp.

“You’re on,” she sneered.

“This afternoon. Arena.”

“I’ll be waiting for you, chump.”

____

Nico was prepared.

He didn’t have weapons, really, or anything, but he had brought along a sandwich. He was munching on it and wiping mayo from his mouth when he heard a loud, rumbling sound reminiscent to a hungry cyclops belly.

Oh yes, Clarisse, mighty daughter of Ares--she was here!

She had a sword in her hand, a few daggers by her belt, full-on armor, pouches of Greek fire near her shoulder pads, and Uggs.

Nico was so scared. He had never seen such repulsive shoes.

“So, dirtbag, are you ready?”

“Let me finish my sandwich first!” Nico called out. But no, he didn’t need the sandwich--he was just taking his time. He had to wait for the feeling, the power to come to him….yes, he was summoning….

Clarisse rolled her eyes in the back. “Two minutes before I beat you up!”

There it was….that sensation….that feeling of harsh winds whipping around his heart….of the dark despair of nights before rushing through his veins….of the crushing feeling of loss squeezing his mind….

There it was. That sensation.

“Nevermind!” Nico screamed. He threw his sandwich aside and faced Clarisse. “I think I’m ready.”

“Right you are!” Clarisse laughed, and dove towards Nico. She was about to get him….she had her hands ready, daggers in both….

Now! Nico gathered up all his strength, and channeled the sensation outward….

Vrpooosh! The earth gathered beneath Clarisse and swallowed her up, just like that. Nico watched quietly as Clarisse descended deeper and deeper while screaming that he cheated the whole time, before the earth closed up above her.

“Should I….?” Nico wondered aloud to himself.

“Should you go get her? Of course.” Chiron replied.

Nico jumped back. He hadn’t heard Chiron coming. Had he seen the whole battle? “Um, yes….but….”

“Oh, Nico, I’m sure you can retrieve Clarisse if you try hard enough. Just channel the same energy--but in a different form, of course, don’t want her to go deeper down the hole--and bring her back up. Yes. Now, I expect to see Clarisse back at the Ares table for BBQ tonight or else--Nico, you’ll come to the BBQ now, won’t you?”

Nico smiled. “Sure.”

“Wonderful! Dandy to have you there,” Chiron said. “Now, if I don’t see Clarisse back at the Ares table tonight throwing peas at her friend, you won’t be getting any ketchup--none at all!”

“Then I’ll try my best to get Clarisse back,” Nico laughed. Chiron laughed too and trotted off, leaving Nico alone with his powers.

This time, he channeled the energy as best as he could again. And there it was….a new sensation….the feeling of Bianca wandering through the chambers of his heart….of nights spent watching Chaplin with Bianca in the hotel rushing through his blood….the wonderful feeling of having a sister who cared, carved into his mind….no, he wouldn’t forget that now….

It was a new….

“NICO YOU FUCKING CHEATER WHAT IN HELL DID YOU DO TO ME I DEMAND A REMATCH YOU LOSER”

….sensation.

____

That night, as we drove out of the desert, I felt like I had--somehow--reached the end of a bottomless pit. I felt like nothingness and everything. Hadn’t I broke a promise, in return for another promise to keep?

I’m so sorry, Nico.

____

Y’know, whenever I tell this story, I find silvery tears start to crawl down my cheek, despite my manly manliness. It’s just something that will always make me cry. I can think back to Tartarus without a shiver but just thinking--just a fleeting thought of Bianca’s death can make me bawl out in the middle of New York City.

I mean, it’s hard not to think of Bianca, now that I’m living with….

WELL!!! I don’t want to spoil this story for you, although you probably know who I’m talking about now….I’m so sorry. It didn’t have to be like this.

Anyways, so we’re going to fast-forward now. Let’s go from that sad point in time to, ah, how about….yes….when I came back from the quest.

And had to face!

The wrath! of Nico!

____

Today was the day!

Nico clambered out of his bunk as he heard the whoops and hollers of fellow campmates outside. He knew it, he knew it, there could only be one reason why they were so happy, yes, yes, he knew it, he knew it!

Oh he could picture it already Bianca she had a pretty laurel leaf crown on her head she was victorious she was riding amongst the shoulders of her campmates and she would see Nico and maybe wave to him and he would just be happy to see her there and yes yes maybe now his doubts could be cleared yes finally oh yes

And there would be him too yes there would be him, and maybe he would see Nico in a new light this time as the brother of the victorious sister, maybe he would see Nico as victorious too, yes thank you Bianca so much for this, and maybe just maybe oh

So Nico ran outside and pushed through the crowd to see the victorious group

….mourning.

He quietly counted them, and realized that two of them were missing. Annabeth was back. He knew. But….what about her and….her….homecoming….her victory….

Oh, he didn’t even have to look up to know. His suspicions, his visions, his premonitions,

Oh, he had been right all along, hadn’t he?

Bianca.

No laurel leaf crown.

____

I had Annabeth. I had Annabeth, but I had lost Bianca.

Was this exchange worth….?

Oh, shut up. I thought. Of course it’s worth it….this is Annabeth, one of your best friends and hopefully a girlfriend. Shut up shut up shut up of course it’s worth it, you didn’t know Bianca half as well as you know Annabeth, Bianca hasn’t been through as much terrors as Annabeth has with you….oh shut up don’t tell me you’d let Annabeth die….for Bianca….

I felt terrible. I had this urge to kill somebody, everybody, as if maybe that could make up for Bianca’s death or something….or maybe I just wanted to be alone….the screams of this ignorant crowd were getting on my nerves….didn’t they see us mourning….didn’t they realize that Bianca was gone fucking gone what were they still screaming for….

And Zoe was gone too, so fucking shut up fuck fuck fuck, why do you have to keep screaming, look bOTH OF THE fuuucKING HUNTERS ARE GONE SO WOULD YOU JUST TAKE THE LIBERTY TO SHUT UP, look the STROnngesT of us are GONE so shUT UP

SHutp UP SHAUTP UU SHUTOUP SHUT IOP

please

oh

oh

oh

____

oh

oh

oh

so the boy

the boy with the pretty eyes, the pretty sea green eyes

the boy with the pretty hair that smelled like sea-salt (haha of course not of course nico had never bent in close to smell it hahA just a guess)

the boy who swam so so fast

the heroic boy who was supposed to

the boy who was supposed to

he was supposed to

keep his promise

why didn’t he

why did he break his promise

oh

oh

oh

there it was again no

it was that sensation

no no no

nO

no way nooo

HE COULDN’T

he couldn’t be

he couldn’t be feeling this sensation

he couldn’t be feeling this feeling

to percy

no

not to percy

percy was to perfect

he loved percy

how could he feel that way about percy

but oh

he could

percy

percy killed bianca

and bianca

now that she was gone

he had lost it

those warm feelings

that happy trance

everything he had experience when he tried to summon

the other sensation

but bianca was gone now

and

he could feel all that

it was escaping him

just flying out of his body

his soul

oh what if he tried to catch it

extend his hands

reach out for them

back, back here

but no

they were flying away too quickly

bianca

she was gone

gone

gone

oh

oh

oh

he would never feel the same way again

no

no

no

couldn’t

he couldn’t channel that

that other sensation anymore

damn

damn

he lost it

gone

so of course

of course he could be feeling the sensation towards percy

of course he could be feeling that way about percy

the imperfect percy

the promise breaker

percy

____

I caught up with Nico after lunch, after all the hubbub and clamor had died down. He was sitting alone by the riverbank, kind of just staring blankly into the stream.

“Hey, Ni--”

“I’ve been waiting for you,” he mumbled, his fingers absentmindedly brushing over the river’s surface.

Whoa. Creepy.

“I know what happened.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure you don’t know what ac--”

“And I don’t want to hear any excuses.”

“But Bianca, she--”

“SHUT UP!” Nico screamed, and he turned around to face me--

A deep rumbling sound echoed beneath me--amblaaaazadayaa amblaaaaazadaya...

Oh shit.

Ghastly warrior that resembled skeletons--I had bumped into them earlier during the quest--came crawling towards Nico and I. I tried to warn Nico, to tell him to get out of the way, but he wouldn’t listen--he just kept screaming and screaming and screaming and I just I

____

oh there was the sensation hot boiling hate running through his veins he could feel it yes yES and he lIKED IT

____

ohmygod.

Nico kept screaming and screaming and then

A hole.

A hole just opened up beneath the skeleton warriors and it….

It swallowed them.

Just like that.

____

Nico opened his eyes, expecting to see the boy he hated so much gone.

But fuck.

He was still there and he was SMILING and oh where had Nico gone wrong oh if he was still there he should be at least in PAIN and SCREAMING and

“Nico, I don’t know what that was, but--”

“JUST SHUT UP!!” Nico screamed. He turned around and ran off, covering his face with his hands. Oh he could feel those tears flowing down his face god he could even hear their light plip-plip-plips as they fell to the ground beneath him and oh why had he failed the one chance he had to avenge his sister and

(your sister wouldn’t want you to do this you know i’m sure you know that deep down)

he had failed oh why though he couldn’t summon the sensation again not anymore and he was tired and beat up and oh

trees

sanctuary

Nico dove straight into the forest.

____

One second he was there, and the next? He was gone.

Oh….

Was it me?

That’s something I still think about these years.

I ask him sometimes, but he never tells me.

Says the truth would scare me.

More than the uprising of Kronos? Of Gaea?

And he always says yes.

____

Okay!!

Do you know what I’m going to do? Do you know what I’m going to do?!

I’m going to fast-forward again!

Like, whoooosh, fast forward seven fucking years!

Where we at now? Where we at now?!

Oh, you’ll see.

It’s a heartbreaker, really.

____

Nico’s breathing was deep and rapid. The ground beneath him was wet with sweat and tears. His knees trembled as he collapsed, his breathing only getting faster and more desperate. Stars climbed in at the corner of his eyes, and the sounds around him came together in a discordant blur.

“Nico….Nico….” Jason yelled, clambering to Nico’s side. He wrapped his arms around Nico’s shoulders. “Hey man….don’t pressure yourself….we can get the staff some other way….”

“No,” Nico rose unsteadily to his feet, gripping onto Jason’s arm for support. He’s so strong. Just like a boy I used to know. Just like….

“I know what you’re thinking about,” the satanic voice of Cupid floated from above. “Don’t try to hide from me, Nico di Angelo.”

“Shut….shut up….” Nico mumbled, slowly walking towards the source of the voice.

“Nico, stop, stop….you’ll go unconscious at this point….” Jason grabbed Nico. “Just stop. Just stop….”

Nico smiled to himself. “Hah,” he said, his words now coming out in short little gasps. Jason was right--he was starting to lose consciousness. “No….no….it’s fine….this isn’t….so bad….might….like it….”

Nico couldn’t see, but he could feel Cupid smiling in the back of his mind. “That’s right,” Cupid’s voice boomed. “Tell it while you can, Nico. Tell it now.”

Nico laughed. “Hah….hah….do you want to know….” A crazed look came over his face. “I liked….I liked Percy….Percy Jackson….that’s right…Percy! Percy Jackson!” Nico suddenly burst into crazed laughter, his expression growing more and more maniacal by the second. “Ha! HA! I DID! HA!”

And after those last few seconds of insane joy

Nico

fell down, unconscious.

____

His eyes reminded me of Tartarus. Too soon. Too soon. So I tried to stay away from him. The memories were still too fresh. The wounds had not healed themselves yet. He couldn’t.

But sometimes he found himself attracted to the gory horrors that Nico brought afresh.

The attractions

they kept coming

coming

coming

in thick comes filled with lust

rushing

rushing

____

Excerpt from a letter from Percy to Nico: dated December 2nd, 2017.

….we’ve been going out for so long now, I’m not sure if I want to break it. You know? I mean, I know….I’ve been seeing you an awful lot, and I do quite like you, just the way my affections for Annabeth are starting to wane a little bit. And I don’t want to have an affair behind her back. That’d be too cruel. Just call it quits, and be able to see you….but Annabeth and I, we have too many ties together, we just can’t break apart now. I mean, if I break up with her, I know we’re both going to want some space from each other….but that’ll be so hard….we’ve got the same friends and almost everything. Our apartments are so close. It’s just….how am I going to do this?....

____

Excerpt from a letter from Annabeth to Reyna: dated December 19th, 2017.

….gods, I don’t know how to say this. I just don’t feel the way I used to about Percy. All this time we’ve spent together, behind his back, it makes me sick and want to throw up. He doesn’t deserve to be treated this way. He deserves a girl that will treat him well--not a lying, cheating, traitorous girlfriend.

But I guess that’s all I am, isn’t it?

I just want to let it be done with, to be able to see you, no longer behind closed doors or with paper bags on my face, I want us to go to restaurants and go to Broadway together and hold hands openly. I don’t mind if the whole world will see us naked; I just want the whole world to see us together.

But gods, if we break up now….? Then what? We’re intertwined in too many ways. We knotted our strings together too tightly from the start. Back then we called them little red strings of fate, but now…I think now I realize it wasn’t that, but just little pieces of twine we found on the streets.

We’ve got too many of the same friends. I know when we break up, we’re going to need some time away from each other. Hole up in our own little spaces and try to deny the other’s existence, but will the others understand? I mean, Leo. He’s so cocky. He’ll definitely try to get us back together with some idiot Pocky game.

If worst comes to worst, though, I suppose we could always move to San Francisco. But I don’t want to just bury all those memories. I want us to still be best buddies. We were best buds before romantic feelings were involved in this tangled web, and I don’t see why it can’t be that way. We share too many scars reminiscent of best friend necklaces--we couldn’t take that away, no matter how hard we tried. All the battles we’ve waged through together, am I willing to just pretend that I never suffered through anything with him?

Those scars, they are a part of me….

____

The hubbub of customers filled the air of lower Manhattan’s favorite bakery, La Fiene. No one paid any attention to the group of twenty-somethings crowded together in the corner. To them, they were nothing important. Just average college students, perhaps talking about last night’s awards show or shit.

But they had it all wrong.

First: They weren’t in college. For complicated reasons, but they….didn’t have to go to college.

Second: They were not talking about the awards show.

Third: They were nowhere, nowhere near average.

And fourth: They were not just nameless faces.

Their names were Leo, Hazel, and Frank.

“You know,” said Leo, his boyish smirk curling deeper, “I must be really bored to hang out with you guys, but I don’t know….something I just wanted to tell you guys.”

“What?” Frank asked. “Don’t tell me you replaced all the Oreo frosting with toothpaste….again….”

Hazel elbowed Frank gently. “You oughta stop eating that junk,” she teased. “What if Ares takes your blessing away? Oh, me….”

“Not this again,” Frank muttered.

“What would I do?! You’d have lost it, Frank, lost it….”

Leo laughed. “Yeah, Frank, you’re nothing to your girl but a big packload of muscle.” Frank rolled his eyes, and Hazel reached across to playfully punch Leo. “But anyways, I really really need to tell you something. It’s about Annabeth and Percy and Nico and Reyna.”

“What, are Nico and Reyna going out or something?” Hazel snorted. “I can’t even imagine it. They’re like best buddies….they wouldn’t do something like that. I mean, think of all the times they got drunk together. You really can’t take someone seriously after you’ve seen them drunk so many times….”

“No, it’s not that,” Leo said. “It’s just that….I think Annabeth and Percy are growing more distant in their relationship. Don’t you think so too? Don’t you notice?”

“Of course not.” Frank rolled his eyes. “Look, why’d you ask us? If you really want to know, go ask Piper or something….”

“Nah,” Leo said. “Honestly, she kinda scares me….”

Frank and Hazel burst out into laughter, tipping over one of their coffees. “I--can’t--I can’t believe--,” Hazel gasped while trying to clean up the stains.

Leo rolled his eyes. “Just shut up about it, okay? But also, you guys have one of the best relationships I know….well, I don’t know. You guys just always seem happy together.”

“Yeah, ‘cause I drug his coffee,” Hazel whispered.

“I HEARD THAT!!” Frank yelled. “I’ll get you for this!!” He started tickling Hazel, and soon all three of them were laughing uncontrollably, blending and mixing into the hubbub of the bakery.

La Fiene.

Bonne nuit.

____

To: Hazel <[horseshorseshooo@gmail.com](mailto:horseshorseshooo@gmail.com)>, Frank <[fyeahfrank@gmail.com](mailto:fyeahfrank@gmail.com)>

From: Leo <[rotteneggs@gmail.com](mailto:rotteneggs@gmail.com)>

Subject: what i was trying to fucking tell u guys

_____________________________________________________________________

god i never got to tell u what i wanted to at the fucking restaurant u guys are all  dipshits i never even got to finish saying anything i barely even made my point

jk i still love u guys

but still

YA

so what i was trying to say is that like percy and annabeth are growing more distant???? like can u notice it????? just like they can’t really pay attention to each other when they talk

andl ike they don’t seem to embrace each other as much

and they always seem slightly uncomfortable around each other

like ya???? u noticE?????

and then like annabeth is so comfortable with reyna and like percy is so chill with nico and they just like yeeeeeeee and idk

what if maybe they’re just friends

but idk idk idk!!!!!! just a theory u know

____

“Hey, Nico.”

“Hi, Hazel. Why are you calling me at 2 in the morning….?”

“Just some brotherly-sisterly-sibling love right? Ha….right?”

“Hazel, it’s 2 A.M. It’s too early for anything.”

“....Besides the point! I called to ask you something?”

“So I was right. No brotherly-sisterly-sibling love or whatever.”

“Shut up, Nico. It’s just about….oh, I don’t know, Per--”

“Yes, Hazel, I’m seeing him.”

“Oh….? Oh, um….”

“And yes, he’s going to break up with Annabeth soon.”

“Oh. Oh, thanks. Bye.”

____

The La Fiene was quite empty today. But, of course, it was a weekday--Tuesday, actually--and most people were at work, school, or hiding in the back alleys dealing drugs. It was empty enough, in fact, that the usual three teens were able to sit near the middle this time.

“You know,” Hazel mumbled, “I really hate sitting out here in the open. What if someone hears? I’m not going to just--”

“Aw, come on!” Leo groaned. “This is the best table in the cafe! Close to the kitchen, so you can smell all that fresh bread, and….wonderful place to catch some cute waitresses, y’know.”

“You’re such an inconsiderate sleazebag,” Frank sighed. “But honestly, Hazel, if you’re that concerned, why don’t we just go somewhere else? Perhaps a more private place? Like my own apartment?”

“No way! If we go there, you two will start--”

“Oh, just shut up!” Hazel groaned. “Gods, what I want to tell you is: Nico’s seeing Percy. He told me.”

“How?!” Leo leaned forward, incredulous. “That guy’s so shady and secretive….god, how did you get him to tell you anything?!”

Hazel shrugged. “I don’t know. He just told me. I didn’t even ask. And anyways, I’m his sister. Of course I get some special lenience.”

“But then that means they’re having an affair,” Frank said, concern scrawled all over his face. “And an affair….oh shit….”

“Nah, don’t worry,” Hazel said, resting her head on Frank’s shoulder. She squeezed him tightly and mumbled, “They’re breaking up.”

“Well then,” Leo said. “Aren’t you a bit tired of all this beating around the bush?” A mischievous smirk crept over his face, one that reminded Hazel all too much of Sammy (no not sammy not now god no not now i’m living with frank now godn o please stop). “Let’s help speed things along, shall we?”

____

“Honestly, this is just cruel,” Jason said. “You know, when I first found out Nico was gay, I wasn’t running around everywhere trying to get him with Percy, and I wasn’t screaming in everyone’s face that he was gay--”

“Oh, shut up,” Piper flopped onto the couch. “Honestly, you kind of were. The amount of times I saw you in a percico shirt--”

“THAT WAS A COSTUME!!!”

“Oh, shut up you two,” Leo hissed. “You’ll ruin it if you keep screaming like that. God, I’ll bet Dorothy can hear you all the way in Kansas….”

“Leo, you’re telling us to shut up?!”

“Leo, you have the literary talent to read The Wizard of Oz?”

“Leo, listen--!”

Click. Click. Ka-chack. Clic--chack.

“Guys, positions!”

____

Honestly, I didn’t know what I was planning to do. I called Annabeth around last night or so and told her to meet me at my apartment with Reyna. I brought Nico along with me, and now here we all were, crowded around me as I fumbled to unlock my door. God, this was so awkward. Hopefully, it wouldn’t get any worse once the talk began….

I finally managed to successfully unlock the door. I walked in, and noticed with an eerie sensation that all the lights were turned off. Odd, I could’ve sworn I left the light on in the kitchen….

“Guys, stay back,” I warned. I pulled out Riptide--I’m glad I kept it after all these years--and took a few tentative steps forward. “Might be….There might be monsters….”

“Honestly, Jackson,” Reyna snorted, pushing me out of the way and pulling out her own sword. “After all this time, you’d have learned….when it comes to the swordwork, there’s no one more skilled than Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano.”

I rolled my eyes and continued to look around when suddenly, the whole room lit up. “POCKYYYY CHALLENGE!!!!!” a voice screamed out from the refrigerator--wait, what?

I scrambled into the kitchen and--of course. Leo had dumped out all my food on the floor and had somehow managed to squeeze himself into the refrigerator. He was smiling wickedly at me as he shook the Pocky box in his hand.

“So,” Leo grunted, wiggling himself out of the fridge. “I hear….ermf….I hear you’ve got a fling with Reyna,” he pointed to Annabeth, “and you’ve been doing the dingebell-hop with Nico.” He pointed at me, almost accusingly.

“The dinglebell-hop?” Annabeth laughed. “But yeah, I’ve been--oh god,” (oh god god) Annabeth’s eyes grew wide (i can see the stars in them how did i never notice how beautiful they were) and her feet started shaking. Her knees caved in, and she stared at me with those wide eyes and began to cry (no please don’t cry you don’t know i’m not any better than you).

The floor beneath her seemed to eat her up, and she collapsed onto the ground in a fetal position and simply began sobbing and lamenting apologies, of sorrow and lies and nights spent without oh fuck without me no yes no (but how many nights have i spent without you please please don’t cry punch me instead)

“Percy, I’m so….I’m so sorry….it’s true….I’ve been….” Tears were streaming down her face, printing zebra stripes onto her cheeks. Mascara….? I thought she hated makeup….

Oh fuck. How could I be so stupid? Even amidst her cheating and her nights with  Reyna, she still loved me….and deep down, I still loved her….how could it come to be like this? She dressed up for me, she thought I had something important to tell her, she wanted to look nice for me….even though she absolutely hated makeup….

Oh, fuck. I’m such a fucktard. How could I play with her feelings like that….? Her love, my love….

I knelt down on the floor beside her and started sobbing, too. I rested my head in the crease of her shoulder and just let the tears fall to the ground. “Annabeth, I’m so….so sorry….” My hands fumbled around until they finally found hers, gripping them tightly. Tightly, tightly, so as I may never lose hold of these hands again.

“Annabeth, I’m so….sorry, but….”

“Percy, Percy, no, you don’t understand what I did, I….don’t deserve….”

“Annabeth, I was seeing Nico the whole time, I was a two-faced….two-faced cheat….”

“No, no, it’s fine, but the every night….every excuse….I was sleeping with Reyna….”

We sobbed into each other. We were so close to losing each other, and we both didn’t want to, but….oh, I don’t know. We wanted it and we didn’t. But at this point, there was no turning back. We had to do it now.

“I’m so sorry, Annabeth.”

“I’m so sorry, Percy.”

“This is goodbye.”

____

Nico watched the two of them crying on the floor. The two had officially announced their goodbyes, yet Nico felt that instead, the two were coming closer, and he himself was floating further and further away from Percy.

“Doesn’t this make you want to cry?” Reyna said from next to Nico. “Feeling so close, but being so far….I’m near the end of the tunnel but I can’t see the light.” She rested her head on his shoulder and hugged him. She felt warm and comforting. Maybe even a little warmer than Percy…. “Sometimes I wish….I wish I never got associated with this.”

“Yeah,” Nico mumbled. He didn’t want to say anything, for fear of breaking down and crying. Even now his voice sounded cracked and the edges of his vision were blurring. Fuck, why was he crying….this was his big break. He could get away from all this now. Maybe turn around, leave this place, never come back again. Back to the old days.

“I just want to go back to our single days. When we drank and drank and simply didn’t care. At least we were happy.” Reyna’s tears streamed down her cheek into his shoulder. He could feel them resting there, as if they’d found a nice home. A nice place to entrust their feelings into. He wished he had a place like that. “I want to be happy again. I hate this feeling.”

“Reyna….” Nico murmured. “Can you be strong for me?”

Reyna sobbed.

“We’ve got to get through this together. If we want our loves to be valuable, we’ll have to make them valuable with the pain we go through.”

“Together,” she choked. “The pain that we’ll go through, together.”

Nico stroked her hair. It was so soft. He never noticed that before in all those times he’d absentmindedly stroked it. It was so soft, so very soft. “Ssh-ssh. It’s okay, Reyna. Calm. Calm down.”

Reyna sobbed, her tears welling up on Nico’s jacket. So many feelings, so many thoughts, so many secrets. “I-I’ll be strong,” she wailed. “I can be strong.”

Nico could still feel her tears steadily streaming.

Was it the crying that made her stronger?

Or was this an empty promise?

He didn’t know, and that made him cry even more. He felt himself growing unsteady, and understanding that Reyna couldn’t be his support today, he let go of his grip on the world. He fell on the kitchen floor, his head hitting the hard tile surface. It hurt. It hurt. It made him numb. Beside him, Reyna landed heavily on his arm and continued shrieking and hitting at the things around her. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt like hell but he couldn’t feel it. He didn’t know.

The two of them. He screamed, he gasped, he tried to claw his way out of this. She sobbed, she kicked, she tried to dream her way out of this. And they sobbed, sobbed.

____

Oh no.

He messed up, he messed up, he messed up. Leo Valdez had not meant for this to happen. What he had wanted was a happy, carefree night of maybe some drinking (he had specially bought Budweiser), lots of Pocky (fifty packs of Pocky sticks from that Asian supermarket downtown), and infinite laughs.

But look now.

Sprawled out on the kitchen floor were Percy and Annabeth, softly crying, crying. Oh, look at the two. Annabeth looked horrible. Percy had lost the signature sea-green in his eyes. A bit ironic, wasn’t it? A little bit of salt water covered up the signature sea-water color in his eyes.

Despite what was happening all around him, Leo chuckled softly to himself. Oh, this had gone so badly. Look at Nico and Reyna. The two supremes. When was the last time Nico cried? When was the last time Nico showed a crap of an ounce of emotion? And when was the last time the mighty Reyna had stepped down from her lofty throne to cry on the shoulder of a peasant?

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Oh, damn. He had fucked up so badly. Because he, Leo Valdez, was a major screw-up. Even if he could fix mechanical screw-ups, he would never be able to fix himself. A clock missing both hands and an engine? A cracked typewriter missing at least twelve keys and tons of small gears? A giant automaton missing delicate wires and an arm? Easy. He could fix them in an hour. But he? He had been trying to fix himself for nineteen years already. New gears. Polish up the rusty areas. Fix the wires. Spring it up again. But it never worked, did it?

Because he, Leo Valdez, was a major screw-up. A failure beyond saving now.

And, even though he had so desperately wanted this event to be a happy one, he felt himself start to cry. Those tears that streamed down his cheeks, leaving rust behind.

____

Hazel snuggled into Frank’s chest and mumbled, “I never want a love like this. Never.”

“Why not?” Frank asked, gently stroking her hair. “Look at them. They’re crying over each other. That’s the truest love I’ve ever seen.”

Hazel was quiet for a moment. Frank was so warm, warm, compared to the cold chill of Manhattan. “I know this sounds dumb, but….” Hazel sighed. “I’d rather have a….a faker love than, you know, pain. I don’t want to cry over love.” She felt a bit better finally saying it out loud, but soon felt a few tears crawl out of her eyes. (oh fuck) Was it for love, or just her cowardice?

Digging herself deeper into Frank’s warmth, she continued: “I know it sounds pretty wimpy, but….” (why the hell was she such a coward she had faced unhumanly pains can’t she just take the blow of love) “...I don’t want to be sad anymore. I don’t want to face anymore pains. I want to have a happy….” (fuck fuck fuck her) “...carefree life….you know? I’d rather just have a love that wasn’t real….” (fuck fuck what was wrong with her if she wasn’t willing to hurt for love then she was nothing but trash) “...than pain. I just don’t want to suffer anymore.”

Frank was quiet for a moment (is he thinking of what a fucking coward i am) before he finally said, “You don’t….you don’t even want to suffer for love anymore?”

“Please….” Hazel sobbed. “Please don’t think of me as a coward. It’s just….”

“No, no,” Frank mumbled. Hazel could feel him smiling above her. “Look at you, Hazel Levesque. You’re crying right now out of love. Don’t lie to yourself: you’re still hurting from love.”

Hazel continued to sob (he’s right though i am aren’t i). Thinking for a moment, she squeezed Frank tightly and said, “The day I stop sacrificing for love, let go of me.”

“Never,” Frank said, pulling her into his arms. He smelled like dumplings and rosemary. So sweet, sweet, compared to the stark pollution of Manhattan. And Frank was so warm, warm, compared to the cold chill of Manhattan. “Even on the day you decide to stop sacrificing for love, I will never let you go. Because I’ve decided, Hazel, you’ve had enough pain for a lifetime. Don’t add anything more to your ever-growing list.”

Hazel sniffed, and felt small teardrops plip on the top of her head. Frank was crying too, now. Whether or not Frank was crying for love, it made her feel a little better. And amidst the tears and the screaming and the apologies, Hazel smiled a small, secret little smile.

She would always, always suffer for love.

____

Piper didn’t know whether to smile or cry. So she decided to cry while smiling. This was all so beautifully sad, she thought. This was the kind of power love had. Love. Something that many looked down upon--something for the weak, something for the faint, something for the fragile, a women’s game….

Well now. Here was Love at its mightiest, standing from atop its lofty throne. With but a mere flick of its fingers it could have two survivors of Tartarus bawling out into each other; two walled-up, secretive beings sobbing and confessing into each other; and two carefree, simple beings letting go of their happiness for a while and crying.

Sacrifices, sacrifices. True love and true pain.

Piper didn’t know what to think. She was so happy and so sad.

 

____

Jason watched Piper smiling contentedly to herself. She seemed happy enough alone, so he scooted over to Leo, who was crying his heart out. God, when was the last time Jason had seen Leo, the always-happy little joker cry? No, when was the last time the joker had seemed even remotely sad?

“Hey, buddy, are you okay?” Jason asked, patting Leo on the back. Leo didn’t respond, but Jason didn’t press him. He had been alive long enough to know that it was better to just shut your mouth and let the others talk when they were ready.

But Leo wasn’t ready, and he would never be. If there was one thing he had left amongst all his failures, it was pride. And with that pride, he would never admit to his failures. Even if the whole world knew about them, knew how he had fucked up every time, he would never confess to them being true.

So the two of them just sat there, Jason patting Leo on the back, trying his best to comfort him, and Leo crying into his knees, trying his best to let everything go away.

____

i can see the stars in them how did i never notice how beautiful they were

was it the crying that made her stronger

been trying to fix himself for nineteen years already

two survivors of Tartarus bawling out into each other

truest love I’ve ever seen

true love and true pain.

don’t want to cry over love

be strong for me

never want a love like this

mighty Reyna had stepped down from her lofty throne to cry on the shoulder of a peasant

let the others talk when they were ready

her love, my love….

pain that we’ll go through, together

she still loved me….and deep down, I still loved her…

he would never be able to fix himself

he himself was floating further and further away

near the end of the tunnel but I can’t see the light

we wanted it and we didn’t

always-happy little joker cry

unhumanly pains can’t she just take the blow of love

leaving rust behind

he tried to claw his way out of this

she was nothing but trash

trying his best to let everything go away

never admit to his failures

____

Every brightly-lit window of Manhattan had a story to tell. In one of the windows, a lonely little girl was waiting for someone to take her away on an adventure. In one of the windows, a girl was finally responding to the boy throwing rocks at her window and passionately serenading her with cantons of love.

In one of the windows, a young man was tinkering with wires and chemicals and trying to invent something new, something big. In one of the windows, a young boy was playing his flute and letting the music flow out and freeze to empty ears in the cold air of Manhattan.

In one of the windows, two men were making sandwiches for their children. In one of the windows, two women were reviewing the French packets with their kids.

And in one of the windows, a group of angsty teenagers were learning true love and true pain.

A beautiful story.

____

It was dark. I was alone.

Well, I suppose I wasn’t really alone, if you actually counted the TV. But then again, most people do nowadays.

So I was alone, save for the TV and a large bucket of half-melted ice cream.

I was alone and in the dark, but I wasn’t lonely.

It had been a week since that disastrous meeting.

I hadn’t talked to anyone since. Shit, I hadn’t even gone outside. I was living off ice cream and stale graham crackers and whatever I could find in the back of the pantry.

I wasn’t lonely, really. There was someone with me.

She wasn’t alive, she was just a spirit living on in my heart.

She was talking to me. She was talking to me about love and life and how you’ve got to get up from all those challenges and strike. You’ve got to breathe the fresh air again and appreciate the flowers again. You’ve got to take a nice look around you and understand that this is life. Love demands sacrifices and pains, and so does life. That’s why you need those things an awful lot.

She was talking to me. She said that if someone really loved you, if they really really loved you, they’d be able to start all over again with you.

I want….I want to begin again with Annabeth.

I really do.

She was talking to me. She said that I should take the time to heal, but I shouldn’t cave myself in these suffocating walls for so long that I hurt again. Go outside and look at the sky and notice how blue it is when the time comes.

I was talking to Bianca.

Because when it comes to love and sacrifices and life….

She’s the only one who knows anything.

Anything.

____

Annabeth stared at her blank phone screen.

The last time she had texted Percy….

She sobbed. It was a lie. A lie. The last time she had texted Percy she had said:

yeah sorry i don’t think ill be able to make it to the roller rink on saturday….

i have an exhibit premiere at the met… :/

It was a lie, it was all a lie. Of course she hadn’t had some stupid exhibit premiere at the Metropolitan. Fuck, she’d never even been to the shit-expensive museum. She had been watching Disney movies with Reyna, fuck. What was her problem?

She stared at the screen. So easy, so simple. She could do it. Just press a few buttons. Dlunp-dlunp-dlunp. Press send. Dlunp. Then. Then it would be all over and maybe she could start afresh again with Percy. Maybe then she wouldn’t feel like such a horrible person and such a liar.

Because when she went outside she felt like people were staring her down and shaming her. She felt like people could see right inside of her and see all of those lies she’d told and all of those promises she’d broke. She felt like people simply knew what a horrible person she was.

She stared at the phone screen.

 

i miss u really badly and im so sorry and please can we just talk and idk but please im crying please

Her thumb hovered nervously over the send button.

No, no.

She deleted everything and threw the phone aside. She turned away and cried into her hands. Crying, crying, crying.

“I miss you so much,” she sobbed to herself. “But you...you probably don’t miss me at all.”

____

“Honestly,” Nico groaned. “I’ll bet Annabeth and Percy are really sad and crying and here we are in a mini bar drinking. Isn’t that kind of….I don’t know, traitorous? Shouldn’t we go and help them?”

Reyna sipped at her martini. “I don’t know….I keep texting Annabeth and she never replies. I don’t know what she’s doing.”

“Shouldn’t we at least be kind of sad?” Nico pressed.

Reyna sighed. “Nico, come on….I said--no, we said we wanted to go back to the old days….come on. We wouldn’t have ever been sad back then. Come to think of it, we were so careless I think we forgot what the word sad meant and felt like.”

“Yeah, we were only ever high.” Nico said, rolling his eyes. “But come on….at this point, it’s impossible to go back to the old days, isn’t it?”

Reyna bit her lip. “Well--”

“No, it really is,” Nico continued. “We were so young back then. We didn’t know true love. We were experimenting. We smoked funny things, drank strange things….”

“Stop making it sound like we were some high school dropouts. For the record, I never smoked anything, and the only remotely funny thing I drank was butterbeer.”

“Well then, maybe just you. I went for pot once. And I remember I had some bourbon.”

“How unlike you, Nico. I’m disappointed.”

“....But the thing is, we’ll never be able to go back to those days, no matter how hard we try. God, we were so careless back then. We didn’t have ambitions. We lived in the here and now. But Reyna….you know we’ve changed. Once changed, we can never return to our original forms.”

Reyna slammed her martini down and screamed, “Fine! FINE! Come on then.” She grabbed Nico by the shirt and dragged him out of the bar with her. “Let’s go find the two of them and have this all be over with. And then….then do you think we’ll be able to go out for some good-hearted drinking?”

Nico smiled. “Yes, definitely.”

____

she’s so sad cooped up all alone in there and that little phone screen does nothing but torment her even though she wishes it could be her savior

____

Knock-knock-knock.

I tried to ignore the knocking but I was pretty sure I knew who was on the other side of the door, and damn I really wanted to see him.

Even though seeing him would make me such a dirty liar.

Knock-knock-knock.

Damn I really just wanted to see him and maybe watch movies or roam the streets together but god I was so lonely even though I didn’t want to admit it.

Knock-knock-knock.

“Hello, Nico….and Reyna. Hello.” I’ll admit, I was a bit surprised to see Reyna.

“Hi….” Reyna stepped forward. “Come on, let’s sit down.” She pushed past me into the house and plopped herself down on the couch. I wanted to scream that this was my freaking apartment and not hers, but then again, she probably had something important to tell me. So I sat down on the floor across from her and waited for her to begin.

“I know you’re in a deep trouble, because Nico and I are here,” Reyna began.

“Really?” I muttered. “Because you two look awfully chummy to me. Seems like you’re almost happy that Annabeth and I are crying at homes, so you can take from our wallets undetected while we’re weeping into our blankets.”

“Percy….” Nico whispered. His eyes looked hurt--really hurt. God, it reminded me of Bianca. Bianca….Oh, fuck. What was I even saying? I didn’t even know….god, I was too confused, too angry. I had wanted Nico to come here alone. Why’d he have to bring Reyna? What was wrong with me….?

“Percy. Snap out of it,” Reyna scolded. “Why the hell are you acting like this? There’s a girl cooped up in her room crying over all the texts she’s sent you. She’s crying, god, her world’s falling apart, and here you are, nursing your sour attitude with darkness and some crap TV shows. You’re not helping her, and most importantly, you’re not helping yourself.”

“Dick,” Nico nodded in agreement. He didn’t even look at me when he said that, which seemed to eat away at a bit at me. (god nico please look at me look at me i miss you so much please i didn’t mean what i just said….i was just angry p!!le!!as!!e)

Reyna continued. “So stop acting like such a dick, trying to make everyone in your little self-fulfilled world anxious and agitated. Stop it. Put on some fresh clothes and go outside and realize what a mess you’ve left behind, and fix it yourself, for goodness sakes. Nobody’s the janitor for your problems.”

“....The hell?” I yelled. God, I was so annoyed of Reyna right now. At this point I had honestly had enough of her smug face and dipshit advice. God, why was she so annoying….? Why couldn’t she just leave me alone….? Fuck, why didn’t Nico just come alone? What was wrong with them all….? “You barge into my apartment uninvited to give me this degradatory talk about my so-called ‘problems’? Hell, if they’re my problems, I’ll do whatever I want with them! Fuck you, I’ll litter them all over the streets if I want to! If you think I live in my own self-fulfilled world, I’ll do whatever I want with them! If you’re annoyed, go back to your own ‘world’ and stop barging in on mine!”

“No! Shut up!” Reyna screamed. “You shut up! Don’t you know anything? Don’t you?!” With a bloodcurdling scream, she pulled back and slapped me straight across the face. “Shut up, god! Don’t you know that other people live in your world, too? And that you can’t just hurt them?!”

I glanced over at Nico, who was sitting on the edge of the sofa with an extremely uncomfortable look on his face. He kept picking at his nails and looking at some invisible watch on his wrist. God, what was wrong with this guy? Was he my boyfriend or Reyna’s….? Fuck, why wasn’t he helping me? Did he have a problem?

“GOD, NICO, WHY WON’T YOU FUCKING HELP ME?” I screamed. “GOD, NICO, THE FUCK?!” I grabbed him by the arm and slapped him across the face. “Nico, who do you even belong to? Who--” slap “--do--” slap “--you--” slap “--belong--” slap “--too--?”

I let go of his arm and pushed him back, shoving him into the wall. He looked up at me with those hurt eyes, which stood out astoundingly from his beat-red face. “Percy….” he whispered, his voice trembling with hurt and disbelief. He was about to hit me back, when his fist dropped abruptly to his side, and he fell to the floor. Turning away from me, he curled up into a ball and began crying into his jeans. God, I could hear him sobbing from where I stood. It sounded so hideous. I wanted to beat him up.

“The fuck, Percy?!” Reyna screamed. She snatched an umbrella from nearby and jabbed it at my neck, straight at my Adam’s Apple. “You--you--what’s wrong with you? What sort of poisonous, vile creature’s eaten away at your heart? Is all this hatred--is this your own?!” She pressed the umbrella deeper into my throat. I could feel the edges of my vision beginning to blur, and the back of my mind felt fuzzy and confused.

Reyna threw my umbrella aside and knelt down next to Nico, helping him off the floor. She held on tightly to his hand as she lashed out at me. “You know what?! I change my mind--I don’t want you to save Annabeth!” she screamed, her eyes filled with hatred. “God, you won’t fix her! You’ll hurt her even more! Fuck you, I’ll go help Annabeth myself!! You know what? You know what?!--”

“You’re a bitch!” I screamed, throwing whatever I could find her in her vague direction.

“--Annabeth left you for me, that’s what! Because you’re just like this--you’re like this! You’re abusive and you’re cruel and you’re--are you like this everyday? Where did all this come from? Now go out! Go out and see if anyone still loves you anymore! I assure you--no one will! NO ONE!” She ran out of the living room, dragging Nico behind with her. I could hear the sound of the door creaking open, and footsteps. Then, there was the sound of the door creaking again. Thank god, they were leaving.

But before the two left, Reyna screamed down the hall: “I’ll tell you, Percy Jackson, I’ll tell you what Nico wants to say! The one thing on his mind right now: You never deserved Bianca’s friendship, let alone her love! You never deserved Bianca!”

____

Nico held on tightly to Reyna’s hand.

“Please,” he whispered amongst small, choking sobs. “Let’s just go see Annabeth.”

“No,” Reyna said, squeezing Nico’s hand. “We’re going to go home. Percy hurt you in every way imaginable, and we’re going to wait until you’re better before we try to go fix someone else.”

Amidst his tears, Nico still smiled and, crying into Reyna’s shoulder, he mouthed:

Thank you.

____

Annabeth stared at the dark wall.

This was worse than Tartarus. She was in a living hell.

Hey, she thought. This darkness all around me….isn’t it similar to nothingness, to emptiness, to an eternal void….?

Isn’t this similar to….death?

____

Please no. Please. How? How did that happen?

I sobbed into my blankets, confused and frustrated. I wish I could take back everything. I didn’t even know what I’d been thinking at the time. God, I don’t know. Reyna just pressing and pressing and rubbing salt in the wound and pressing and pressing and reminding me of her and everything, everything oh god

I didn’t even know what I was thinking I was just so annoyed and so done with the thought of her I just didn’t want anymore of it none NONE and i don’t know did i lose it?because god i lost it what did i even do

I feel hungover and what happened a few minutes ago was a night forgotten and i have her number but not her face what god what

god what did I say to nico god i didn’t mean a single word i said and i hope he knows that god im sorry nico i was just angry and confused and frustrated and please please find it in your heart to forgive me

please I still love you an awful lot i didn’t mean for any of that to happen god i want to erase all this and just start over again, god i want to start over again

nico i miss you so much you were here just a few seconds ago but i miss you i feel choked and starved without you please come back let’s start all over again because i miss you so much let’s erase the past and draw our future can we press replay oh god just please please please let’s start again

annabeth please I want to start again please annabeth can we be friends, best buddies best friends like we were when we first met?because i miss those days i really do miss those days i want to go back i hate the way we’re living right now walking over these delicate lines

annabeth please let’s be friends again i miss you i really do i miss it all i miss everything i miss the sweet smell of flowers i miss the blue blue sky i miss it all i miss it all but most of all i miss you an awful lot

annabeth please

annabeth please

annabeth

annabeth….

annabeth i’m coming

____

Oh, how similar this is to death. Would I feel any difference….

Knock-knock.

Annabeth jumped up. Who needed to see her now? Please let it be Percy, please let it not be Percy, oh fuck she was so confused

“ANNABETH!!”

Annabeth’s heart skipped a few beats. It was Reyna!

“Oh, Reyna,” Annabeth mumbled, sobbing into her hands. She stumbled over to the door and opened it to find Reyna and Nico standing there. Reyna was hugging Nico (oh no please don’t tell me this is a breakup meeting please) and her eyes were fierce, glowing.

“Annabeth, I tried,” Reyna said. “I really did. But Percy….he wouldn’t listen. I wanted him to come here and talk to you. And fix things up. I’m sorry. I tried to play the role of the hero, the knight in shining armor, but….”

“Oh….Reyna….” Annabeth sobbed even louder. She drew the two of them in for a big group hug. “Reyna, I love you, I really do. I’m glad you tried, but you don’t need to. And Nico….”

Nico looked up, surprised. Oh, so she knows I was standing here, he thought to himself.

“....you’re a really wonderful guy. I do like you an awful lot.” She ruffled his hair playfully, and Nico smiled and squeezed her. “You’re nice too, Annabeth.”

“But Annabeth….” Reyna sobbed, “Annabeth….you don’t know the things he said, oh god they were horrific. Did you see what he did to Nico….? Gods….I’m so….Annabeth, I tried and made it worse, I’m….”

“Hell no, Reyna. I won’t let you say you’re sorry. Honestly, this is….”

“Not your fault!” Nico piped up.

Annabeth smiled. “Perhaps. But I’m sorry for….”

“I dragged myself into this. In fact, I was….”

“No.”

“Fine.”

“Let’s just be quiet and be grateful for each other.”

So the three of them stood there, cheek against cheek, in a warm embrace, miles away from the pain of just a few minutes ago.

____

God, why were there so many stairs to go through to get to Annabeth’s apartment?

I mean, I could’ve taken the elevator, yeah, but that thing is unreliable as hell and I really had to get to Annabeth as quickly as I could. I was running up the stairs as fast as I could, skipping steps, cutting corners, running, running, straight for the door….

I stepped out and saw either the best sight in the universe or the worst. There was Annabeth, bundling Nico and Reyna in this giant group hug.

I mean, I was happy that she felt better. Really. Honestly. I was happy for her, I really was.

But the thing was, it wasn’t I who had made her feel better. Which seemed to break my world into a million pieces.

 

____

Annabeth was taking in the sweet scent of Reyna. She always smelled so sweet, like citruses and roses. She was starting to feel better already. Pain was a thing of the past. Gosh, she loved the smell of citruses and roses so much. Wanted to snuggle next to Reyna all day and have that be the only thing….

“ANNABETH!”

Oh, fuck no, please no. God it sounded like him, so much like him. Please don’t let it be him. Not him. Let it be Leo doing his uncanny impressions. Let it be some pizza delivery man who knew her name coming to deliver a pizza she didn’t order. Let it be her dad. Someone, anyone, just not him.

“Annabeth, Annabeth, please, we need to talk, we gotta talk….”

Oh fuck it was him of course it was him. Please no, just go away Percy just go away I’m so done with you….Please look at me! I’m happy now I’m happy with Reyna and Nico look I’m happy please please don’t try to take that happiness away from me….not here, not now….not ever….

“Annabeth, please, listen to me….”

“GET AWAY!” Reyna screamed. “GET AWAY FROM HERE!”

“No, please, I’m serious, let me talk to Annabeth….”

“NO!” Reyna screamed. She left Annabeth’s arms and stepped right up to Percy and slapped him straight across the face. He fell to his knees, blood slowly trickling from his nose. “Please, let me talk to Annabeth,” he pleaded. “Please.”

Annabeth look at Percy. He was on his knees, bleeding, panting, begging, in the middle of her crowded apartment….oh, she did feel pity for him.

She was always that way though, wasn’t she? First Luke, now him….she never knew what was right. Could never turn away.

“Please….Annabeth, please….”

Annabeth paused for a moment. She looked over at Reyna and Nico and said, “I think….I think we’ll need to be alone….”

The two of them left, leaving Annabeth alone with Percy. He continued to pant and beg on the floor, pleading for forgiveness, please please, please….

“Percy. Come on in.”

____

I followed Annabeth into her apartment. She lead me to a seat and went off to the kitchen to make me some tea.

God, how could she be so nice to me? Did she even know about the things I had done?

“So, Percy….” she began. “What are you here for?”

“Annabeth, I just want to say I’m so sorry--”

Annabeth glared up at me. “Shut up. I don’t want to hear it. It’s all….it’s all a thing of the past.”

“Oh, really?”

“Really,” Annabeth said angrily. “Now stop playing with my feelings.” She slammed the overflowing teacup down in front of me. “If that’s all you want to say, I think I’ll ask you kindly to exit.”

I picked up the cup and stared down to the very bottom, all the way down to the tea leaves. I remembered looking at them when I was little, thinking they could guide me. “That’s not all I really want  to tell you,” I mumbled.

“Oh really?” Annabeth asked, exasperated. “Well, if there’s anything more you want to tell me, say it quick.”

“I just….” My voice cracked. God, this was all so heartbreaking. “I just want….can we please go back to when we first met? When we were happy friends?”

“God, Percy, can’t you see? Aren’t we? We’re friends now, aren’t we? Look, I’m giving you tea. Look, I’m not beating the shit out of you. We’re friends.”

“No….no, no, no! God, this isn’t friendship, we aren’t being friends right now! We’re so far apart from each other. It’s like we’re on different islands. Gods….how come we used to be so much smarter, so much mightier when we were younger? You could think of ideas to push those islands together, and I could make the waters part way for their engagement….”

“The same powers that brought us together separated us. Percy, honestly, this is as close to friends as we’ll ever get. We can’t….too much has happened since we first met. I don’t think we ever can go back, Percy. In fact….” Annabeth looked down at her lap and sighed, “Nothing can ever go back to its original state.”

“No.” I got up on my feet and stared Annabeth down. “No, that’s not what I believe. Annabeth, we’ve been through so much together. Hell, we’ve gone through Tartarus together. For us, this should be child’s play.”

“No way,” Annabeth said, also coming up to her feet. “No way. Emotional pain is harder to fix than physical pain. Always. So there’s no way we can do this, not anymore.”

“Annabeth.”

“Percy.”

“At least try, Annabeth.”

“There’s no more trying anymore.”

No.

This wasn’t the Annabeth I knew.

The Annabeth I knew was all about perseverance and survival and trying her hardest. This was no Annabeth.

I couldn’t fix her now. She’d lost her old self, how did I expect us to go back to our old state?

But I would wait.

I would wait till the real Annabeth slowly seeped back into this bare shell, and colored her every corners with the original tints of the Annabeth I knew.

I would wait till then.

But now wasn’t the time.

So I took my things and left the room quietly. Out, out, back out into the open world.

____

Manhattan nights are cold but they aren’t harsh. That’s what Leo thought. They were always filled with the buzz of people. Bars were full of men talking about the latest football game, women stood out by the streets going to late-night restaurants and shops talking about the latest happenings, and the occasional tourist wandered by too, map in hand.

Leo had booked yet another reservation at a restaurant with Hazel and Frank. He found the two mushy lovebirds to be quite the companions.

Funny how over the years, they had managed to overshadow Jason and Piper. His old friends. Like, the “originals.”

When he arrived, he found Hazel and Frank waiting by the entrance for him. “You’re late!” Hazel groaned. “God, it’s freezing out here. What took you so long, Leo?”

“I stopped on the street a lot.”

“What for?!”

“Oh, I don’t know. I mean, calm down, Hazel. I haven’t been in the city that long. Plus, it’s a nice winter evening, and….I don’t know, I just like to stop and look around.”

Frank laughed. “You know, you’ve changed a lot, Leo. You’re like some hopeless romantic now.”

Leo shrugged. “Come on, let’s get in, before Hazel turns into a big, yummy popsicle--ow!”

When the three were properly seated and Hazel had finally stopped complaining about the cold, Leo began.

“Don’t you guys think that Percy and Annabeth are kind of….I don’t know, they’re like an avalanche. A problem that just keeps on rolling and rolling downhill and they’ve just….they’ve become so….”

“Uncontrollable? Problematic?” Hazel offered.

“Yes! Yes!” Leo exclaimed, jumping up. “Those two! And don’t you think….don’t you think we should try to fix it?”

“Uh, maybe not,” said Frank. “Last time you tried to fix their problems, it kind of….you know, backfired. Like, big-time.”

“I know, but this is one of those problems that need meddling, okay? They’re out of control! They’re driving the rest of us mad!”

“Not really,” Hazel shrugged. “I mean, the only thing that’s been driving me mad lately is that Frank never turns the heat up high enough. Although it doesn’t seem too bad to me to try, you know--seems to me like they’ve already reached pit-bottom.”

Frank groaned. “Leo, what’s your idea this time, then?”

____

I got a letter in the mail, a few days after that fight with Annabeth. I could tell immediately from the greasy stains and oil drips on the envelope that this letter was from Leo, and I knew it was going to be another sad attempt at trying to get everyone--especially Annabeth and I--on good terms again. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go--I had no idea what it was, and my gut told me it was going to be pretty bad--but at the same time, I really wanted to see Annabeth. I had to apologize to her. I wasn’t sure if she was going, but hey--it doesn’t hurt to try. My whole life has been a gamble on trying.

I quickly skimmed the letter for some general info. It was the day after tomorrow, 7:00 p.m., at Leo’s house. The letter didn’t specify what we would be doing--just some “nice, chill activities.” Okay. It sounded like Leo was going to take us to rastafarian camp or something.

I shoved the letter into my pocket, carving the event into my head. I flopped down onto the couch, staring up at the empty ceiling. Oh god, I really hope this worked. Maybe this one time, I would be able to get Annabeth again--talk to her again. Maybe I would be able to better express my feelings--

Hey, that’s right. Maybe I just haven’t been using the right words to describe my feelings.

So I pulled out a pen and some paper and began writing, how I was feeling. Little by little. Words, phrases, anything that seemed to describe how I was feeling about her, this, everything.

____

When Annabeth peered inside her mailbox and saw the greasy, oil-stained envelope, she knew exactly whom it was from and exactly what it contained. And the thing was, she really, really didn’t want to do whatever activity Leo was planning.

But at the same time, she really really did.

Annabeth kind of wanted to talk to Percy, and she kind of didn’t. She really did want to try to fix things with him--after all, he had gone down to Tartarus with her, how couldn’t she be grateful?

And after their last argument, she had been feeling pretty bad. Maybe this would all make her better, and she could finally officially put everything behind her. Everything would just stop bothering her. A good time to fix things, you know?

But at the same time, she didn’t--he had hurt her, she had hurt him, and it was all so confusing and such a mess.

But she did take a look at the letter and saved the date.

She was going to go, for sure.

And if Percy was there, she might try to talk things out with him.

And if he wasn’t, well then, good enough! She’d have fun with the others.

____

“Hey, Nico,” Reyna said. They were walking together in Central Park. It was a fine afternoon, and people brushed past them, some walking dogs or pushing baby strollers or going for a jog. People always came out when the weather was nice, which was why Nico and Reyna usually walked in the rain. But Reyna had said she wanted to talk today, so it goes. “Did you get….”

“....the letter from Nico? Yeah. You going?”

“It sounds good enough. Although I hope Leo really makes it good this time. If he makes another disaster like last time, I think the only people that will ever hang out with him are Hazel and Frank.”

“I doubt he will,” Nico remarked. “I saw him cry last time. I’m sure he’s thought of something better this time.”

“Really? I hope he has,” Reyna said. “But Nico, are you going or not?”

“I don’t know,” Nico shrugged. “I mean, I might go, but I don’t know….I’m pretty sure Annabeth and Percy are both going to be there. And I’m pretty sure the two of them are going to try to use that time to fix things, you know. Apologize.”

“So?”

“Well, I think it’ll be kind of awkward if I’m there.”

“Oh, come on, it’ll be okay! After all, I’ll be there too, and I’m pretty much in the same boat as you are! Come on. It’ll be fine! And anyways, if you get bored, I heard Leo never leaves his laptop nor Netflix locked.”

Nico smiled. “Sure then. I’ll be there--but only for the Netflix binging.”

Reyna grinned. “You’re so easy. Disney marathon?”

“Disney marathon.”

____

Leo screamed, frantically typing away at his laptop. The hell do you use iMovie? What was the difference between an event and project?! What the fuck?! Leo, engineering extraordinaire, could not manage the basic functions of a computer.

“Frank!” he screamed. Frank tumbled out of the kitchen, a tray of refreshments in hand. “What?” he asked, breathless. “Oh my god, Leo, you need a new toaster--I think I tried to cram too many slices of toast in the slit, man, I think it broke.”

“Whatever--can you just help me with this?” Leo stabbed at the computer screen. “JUST HELP ME MAKE THE MOVIE FOR FUCK’S SAKE.”

“Sure,” Frank said, and clicked around. A few minutes later the movie was done.

“Do you think it’s good enough?” Leo asked. “Like, enough to bring tears to their eyes? You think it’s good enough to give us a typical happy ending?”

“Yeah, it’s good,” Frank said, nodding a bit, “but expect anything but typical. You know how it always is with us.”

“Ha, you’re right,” Leo laughed a bit. “Oh well. Is Hazel okay in the next room? I heard her scream a few times.”

“Yeah, and that’s why I told you not to leave with her scissors and paper,” Frank said, rolling his eyes. “Come on, Leo. She gives herself paper cuts all the time and pokes herself with scissors nonstop. I told you to let her do the refreshments.”

“I trust her with my knives less,” Leo said. “HAZEL!”

“Yeah?” Hazel moaned, stumbling out of the room. “Whatchu want?”

“Have you got the cards ready?”

“Some of them….maybe half….or one-fourth….but honestly, Leo, why do you need the cards? I mean, the whole focus point of your little get-together is the video.”

“God, Hazel, you really can’t do much, can you?” Leo groaned. “Just try to get as many cards done as you can.”

“DON’T EXPECT MUCH!!” Hazel screamed, and slammed the door shut. A few minutes later, Leo could hear the opening theme for Orange Is the New Black.

“God, I can’t believe her,” Leo said. “She actually sits through the whole theme?” He groaned and leaned back on his chair. “So now what? We just wait for them?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Frank said, leaning on the table. “Hey, Leo, I made a lot, and we’ve still--”

“Don’t even think of eating one of those snacks.”

____

Today was the big day, Annabeth thought to herself.

She pulled a nice frilly top out of her closet--something she wouldn’t normally have indulged in--but today was a big day. It was a make-it-or-break-it day. And on those kinds of days, you had to do everything right, starting with dressing right.

She looked at the mirror, and felt a little embarrassed. The old her--seven year old Annabeth, always biking and skiing and just getting dirty--would have been so ashamed of her right now. The seven year old Annabeth, who had sworn off being a “girly-girl” and would have refused to have worn something like this, something so frilly that showed off so much shoulder.

Which made Annabeth think--she really had changed an awful lot. She plopped down at the couch and stared up at the blank ceiling, thinking, thinking. She had changed a lot since when she was little, whether or not she wanted to admit it. Look at her now, getting all dolled up. Little her wouldn’t have ever loved that.

And change was part of growing up, wasn’t it?

So maybe….maybe this new, grown-up, mature Annabeth didn’t need Percy. Maybe it didn’t matter if she and Percy used to be best friends--things change, people change. And maybe it didn’t matter that Percy had--only kind of, she argued--jumped into Tartarus with her. She had repaid her debts over the years, hadn’t she? So maybe….?

No, Annabeth thought sternly, getting up and grabbing her jacket. She walked out the door and locked it behind her. No, she thought. Life changes, sure it does. But sometimes, those changes aren’t for the better.

And you’re going to have to fix them.

____

It was the BIIIIIG DAAAAAAY!! I honestly had no idea how to feel. How would it go? I hoped Annabeth would understand how sorry I was. I hoped things would turn out okay. I’d been so fucked up the past few days. I wanted things to just get better.

So I put on a clean shirt and some nice shorts.

First time in ages, you know.

____

Nico and Reyna were walking to Leo’s apartment when Reyna suddenly said: “Nico, I have no idea what Leo’s Netflix password is. I’m not even sure he has one. He can barely use a computer.”

“WHAT?!” Nico exploded, scaring a few grandmas walking by. “Then what are we going to do?! Fuck, Reyna, we’ve got no business being there! Come on, let’s go back already!”

“NO WAY!” Reyna screamed, just as loud--but with that high-pitched ring meant to kill one’s ears. “I want to go! And anyways, I heard Leo’s planning to show us a movie or something! So, you know….!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“No!”

“Come on, Nico, I thought we were friiiiends. Or have you completely left me for Percy?”

Nico groaned. “That’s a sour spot you’re deciding to pick there, little Reyna.”

Reyna grinned. “Okay, fine, but still! Who knows? It might be fun, you know! I heard Frank made refreshments. He’s from Canada. I’ll bet he made us something really good.” Reyna jumped up and down, her hands clasped together, begging. She reminded Nico of a little child in a candy store--like Bianca (oh shit too much like bianca) so sighing, he followed Reyna in the direction of Leo’s apartment. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“YAAAY!” Reyna squealed.

“Remind me never to trust you again,” Nico muttered. “God, Reyna, sometimes I don’t even know….”

Reyna laughed. “You know how they say to never trust a politician? Well, for people like us….never trust a praetor.”

____

I arrived around five minutes late--sorry, but I’d found a really good chestnut stand on the way, so….yeah. By the time I got there, everybody was already there, waiting for me--including Annabeth. And the minute I saw her, I ran into the apartment, breezing past Frank, not caring to take off my shoes at all.

Annabeth stood up and held out her arms for a hug, and I collapsed right into them. God, whether or not I wanted to admit it, I missed her. I loved Nico, but I missed her too.

“Percy…” Annabeth whispered.

“It’s okay,” I said, patting her back. “I feel you.”

So we sat down together, preparing for whatever Leo had planned for us. I could hear Nico and Reyna laughing together in the back--I’m glad the two of them managed to get along so nicely, unlike Annabeth and I.

“OKAY!” Leo said, clapping his hands. “So. What day is it today? Wednesday, maybe. Pretty nice day outside. A little chilly, a little warm. Rare. Well, I bet you’re wondering what we’re going to do today! And honestly, it’s nothing much. Just watch a little video.” He smirked, and continued.

“You know how in summer camp of kindergarten graduations people always put together those amazingly sentimental slideshow videos? Yeah, well, I tried that to. It’s a technical disaster, though--like, how do you even use iMovie?--but it should bring enough tears to your eyes. If not from the photos, at least from the horrendous quality.”

I smiled. This sounded like it was going to be fun. Right before Leo turned the lights off, I took Annabeth’s hand and squeezed it tightly.

I couldn’t see, but I sensed she had smiled.

____

There was no denying it.

Annabeth was just so happy to have Percy back at her side again.

Even if it was only going to be this afternoon, that was okay. Because maybe after this all her worries would have washed away. And even if not, even if after this he left her again and her worries came back again, that was okay. Feeling calm and peaceful for a while was better than nothing.

____

Leo smiled.

He hadn’t even had to do anything, and look. Annabeth and Percy had practically fixed themselves.

But what came over them? At first they’d been arguing and trying to grind each other up, and now here they were, hand in hand, smiling to themselves.

What the fuck?!

Leo really just didn’t understand human relationships.

Perhaps that’s why he’d been single for so long.

____

When the video started, the first picture that popped up on the screen was a picture of Percy and Nico together--Nico remembered that picture. It was from their trip to Los Angeles not song long ago. It was a week long trip, and it had been fun--they got to eat ice cream and greasy fries every day--but Nico remembered the whole trip through, Percy had called him “Nico di Angeles.”

Nico smiled to himself, but quickly looked over at Annabeth, worried at how she might take it, but in fact she continued smiling. She leaned over and whispered something into Percy’s ear, and he laughed.

Ouch. That stung. Nico wondered if maybe….

“Calm down, little guy,” Reyna said, nudging Nico’s arm. “They’re not talking about you. It’s just we went to Los Angeles, too. And when we went there we saw fifteen hobos pissing in the alley behind our hotel, so she’s probably talking about that.”

“Wow, but….how did you know?” If there was one thing that annoyed Nico about Reyna--there were many, of course--it was that she could read his emotions right off of him like a book. Or was he really that simple of a person? He hoped not, but honestly….

Reyna shrugged. “I was a praetor. I spent that whole section of my life learning how to read people’s emotions, how to evaluate situations….and anyways, I’ve been around you when you were drunk so many times, I can always guess how you’re going to feel 0.28 seconds before it happens.”

Nico laughed. “You bragging bitch,” he said.

Reyna poked him in the ribs. “You’re just an unskilled dick.”

And the two of them laughed together, happily.

____

Annabeth watched the slideshow with Percy, laughing at some of the photos--especially the selfies they took together, where Annabeth would always do an ironic duckface and Percy would pretend to be a frat boy, and occasionally whispering some random tidbits into his ear.

This all felt so nice.

Some of the photos were kind of sad to her--well, they weren’t sad, not the photos--it was just they gave off a nostalgic feeling, which made Annabeth sad. Seeing a picture of her and Percy kneeling by the creek, looking for frogs….it made her wish for simpler times like that, when everything was good and the only problem that would have arose that would be close to this one was that Percy had took all the potato chips, or Kronos was about to destroy the world.

Those pictures made her sad.

It felt a little better with Percy sitting next to her, though, so she swallowed that bad feeling and waited for the next picture, a selfie of her and Reyna--which she promptly laughed it.

____

Frank stood in the back, watching all of them. They all looked so happy, so at ease. Finally back in peace after weeks of turbulent waves. He was supposed to have given out the refreshments ten minutes earlier, but he liked watching them there, laughing and talking, and decided not to ruin their moments of calm.

“Hey, Frank,” Hazel whispered. She was sitting next to him, watching Netflix. She pulled out one of her earbuds and handed it to him. “Stop worrying about their refreshments. Look how happy they are. Leo won’t throw a fit over this. And come on, this is your favorite shoe. We ought to be happy, too. They’re not the only couples in here.”

Frank smiled, and set the refreshments on a nearby ledge. He sat down next to Hazel and listened as the first few notes of the opening theme began to play.

____

Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.

It’s really one of my favorite quotes, you know.

Whenever I look back at that time--those moments, hanging out with the rest of my friends in Leo’s cramped apartment, watching some messily put-together video, fingers interlaced--that’s the first thing that comes to mind. It had been so fun, so wonderful, just being able to sit there with the rest of them and feel happy. Content.

It’s a really nice quote.

____

Annabeth smiled to herself, amidst feeling a little sad on the inside. The video was drawing to a close, and soon this event would be over. Then Percy might leave her out alone in the cold or he might take her home to warm up, but either one would leave her feeling a bit sad.

She just wanted to stay like this forever. Silent, not talking. But happy forever.

____

After the movie was over, Reyna felt a little sad on the inside. She was glad Nico couldn’t read her like an old book.

Seeing old pictures of her--especially selfies taken with Jason--made her a quite sad and nostalgic. She realized she hadn’t talked to him in forever--hell, he wasn’t even at this party. How the tables had turned--once the center of attention, he now seems dispatched and abandoned.

Seeing pictures of her with Annabeth made her sigh a little on the inside, for reasons she couldn’t quite fathom.

Seeing pictures of Annabeth with Percy only served to create a huge gap between Annabeth and her that she sensed was getting larger and larger as the minutes ticked by, with Annabeth leaning on Percy’s shoulder.

All this made her so sad.

Yet she was so happy.

____

I felt so much better after the movie.

Annabeth clutching my arm kind of tickled.

It was all good.

____

Leo smiled to himself.

Yup. He’d done it now.

____

After the movie was over, we all stood outside Leo’s apartment, exchanging good-byes. Leo was there too, patting everyone on the back and telling them to come over some other time for more fun.

When he got to Annabeth, she leaned over and whispered something in his ear. He drew back, surprised. “Oooh, girl, are you sure about that?”

She nodded.

“Right after today?” He nodded towards me. Embarrassed, I felt my cheeks turn red as Leo laughed. Walking away, he shouted over his shoulder, “You’ve got to tell him too, you know!”

“Wh….What?” I asked nervously, fearing it would have something to do with me. Did Annabeth still hate me? Did she think I smelled bad? Had my jacket been too itchy for her?!

“Um….” she hesitated, looking down at her feet. “Well, Reyna and I….we’re moving to San Francisco soon….”

“Wait….what?! Why aren’t you guys going to stay here in Manhattan?! God, it’s beautiful here! Really! It is! Why….when did you decide? Are you just….just going to leave all of us? Right after….after this? After today?!”

“No, no--” Annabeth stammered. “It was a choice I made long before….I was already thinking about it for a long time, maybe three or four months….and then when we had that argument in Leo’s apartment….I don’t know, that was just the last straw for me, you know? Later that night I registered everything; I turned in paperwork and started packing and hired a moving company….god, we’re moving away next week, and I really don’t want to, but it’s too late and….actually, I do want to, Percy, I do.” She whispered that last part really silently, as if she didn’t want me to hear, and looked up at me with a half sad and half happy smile. I simply blinked, so she continued:

“I mean, I’ve been away from San Francisco for so long….I really do miss it. It’s where I grew up, you know? I’ve always got to go back. And anyways, we can still talk, right? Write letters?”

“Wait….okay, okay….but why don’t you just use email instead?”

“I find writing to be a more personal thing,” Annabeth said, smiling. “And anyways, I already know the address of our soon-to-be home in San Francisco….here, let me write it down for you….” She reached into her pocket and ripped a bit of a napkin, and scrawled her address on it.

“Here,” she said, handing it to me. “Buy some nice stationary this week.”

____

“You’re moving?” Nico asked, sadness tinged into his voice.

“Si, si, little Nico,” Reyna laughed. “I’m going to San Francisco! And I’m going to go see the biggest Chinatown in the U.S.! And don’t worry--I’ll send you pictures every day. I’ll be waiting on Skype, too.”

“Pictures every day?” Nico half smiled, amidst his growing sadness. “They better not just be a bunch of bad-lighting selfies.”

Reyna smiled. “They won’t.”

“Reyna, when you go to Chinatown, eat some of the dumplings there and think of me while you eat them, okay? So that maybe, all the way across the nation, I’ll be able to taste them too.”

Reyna laughed. “I will. Any other food requests?”

“Go to In-N-Out Burger and try some of the fattest, greasiest burgers there. Think of me, too.”

“Will do. As long as the grease doesn’t kill me.”

“Reyna….” Nico started to sniffle a little. He hugged Nico and dug his face into her shoulder, and whispered, “When you’re gone, who’s going to make me that kick-ass salsa?”

Reyna smiled, gently patting Nico’s back. “Hey, little guy, don’t worry about that. I got your back. I knew you’d want salsa, so I spent a lot of time teaching Leo. Don’t worry. He’ll get it right.”

Nico sobbed. “Did you know because I’m as easy to read as a good book?”

“Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm.”

____

For the next week, Annabeth came over and camped at my place a lot. She often brought Reyna along--at first hesitantly, but then it was just another normal thing. Reyna often talked with Nico in the back about San Francisco and the foods there, while Annabeth and I usually just laid on the floor together, sometimes talking nonstop and other times barely uttering a word.

Nico and I constantly went over to Annabeth and Reyna’s place, too. We helped them pack their things and often I caught Nico stealing a few of Reyna’s cookbooks.

But I never said anything about it, because Reyna’s tacos are damn good. And if she’s gonna leave, we need to know the secrets.

____

On the day of their departure, Nico and I accompanied them to the airport. We helped them carry their bags, bought a few coffees for all of us, and waited with them for their flight. Right before they went off, Annabeth stood and hugged me tightly.

“I’ll miss you, Percy, I really will. I’m glad we were able to get things sorted out in the end. Write to me soon, okay?”

“Yeah,” I murmured. “Yeah.” I squeezed her tightly, and I realized I never wanted to let her go. Not for a month, not for a year--she should stay with me.

But if you love something, you’ve got to let it go, right?

Shit.

____

Nico stared at his feet. He didn’t want Reyna to go.

“You know, I haven’t been able to find a lot of my cookbooks lately.”

“Yeah,” Nico murmured, though he hadn’t really heard what Reyna said.

“And I’m pretty sure you’ve taken them.”

“Yeah.”

“....You’re not even listening, are you?”

“Yeah.”

“Aw, come on.” Reyna pulled Nico in for a tight hug. “Don’t be such a killjoy. I’m the one that’s going to be on the plane forever!”

Nico smiled. “Serves you right.”

Reyna slapped him on the back. “Loser! I’ll be on Skype soon as I get there. Three hour time difference, right? Be on time. I’m gonna be there at 3 p.m….in this time zone, I think….so that means I’ll be there at noon, right? Shit, time zones are hard. Just try to wait for me at noon, okay?”

“Sure, but what if you’re not there?”

“Then go eat a cronut and your Skype absence for today will be excused.”

“Gods, I’ll miss you, Reyna. I really will.”

“Of course.”

____

Annabeth looked back, and waved to Percy and Nico. They waved back, and Percy had a bit of a sad smile on his face. She waved one last time, before going off.

“So,” Reyna said. “You excited?”

“Very,” Annabeth said.

“Whoa,” Reyna said, faking a theatrical gasp. “Damn, I never expected my girl Annabeth would be excited about long, boring 7-hour flights.”

“Shut up!” Annabeth laughed, slapping Reyna on the back. “Fuck, I wasn’t talking about the flight, I was talking about San Francisco. And anyways, I’ll have you, so the plane ride won’t be that bad, right?”

Reyna snorted. “More of that sentimental crap, eh? You’re starting to act like those two! I get nauseous on planes, you know. Puke sometimes. It’s uncomfortable and they always make it too cold in there.”

Annabeth shrugged. “It’ll be fun watching you puke, then.”

Reyna poked her arm. “Meanie!” Annabeth laughed, and they were silent for a while before Reyna finally asked in a low undertone, “But seriously, how do you feel about going to San Francisco….?”

Annabeth looked at Reyna, who was staring at the floor. “Well, I mean, it’ll be fun, right? A new adventure. And anyways, it’s my hometown, so I know all the best places and shit….it’ll be fun!”

“Yeah, but….” Reyna paused. “Don’t you feel kind of sad about leaving Percy and Nico behind? You know?”

Annabeth was quiet for a moment. Yes, she did feel sad. But she couldn’t take it back now. And anyways, whether or not she really wanted to admit it, she was kind of happy to be going away. Manhattan weather was always too harsh during this season. Too many cold, cruel secrets buried underneath the snow.

Not that she wouldn’t come back, of course.

“Well, you know what they say, right? If you love something, you gotta let it go.” She chuckled a bit. “Right?”

“Shit,” Reyna murmured.

____

The first week Annabeth and Reyna left, I didn’t write any letters to Annabeth at all, I simply didn’t contact her at all. And she didn’t make any attempt to contact me. I knew Reyna and Nico were super in-touch--I could always hear the two of them talking after we ate dinner (Nico had moved in recently--after all, if Annabeth and Reyna could make some huge decision, why not us?).

However, after the first half of the second week, I began to write letters to Annabeth like crazy. Long, detailed, endless….I just kept sending them to her, sending them to her.

And I got tons back, too. Long, detailed, endless.

____

Excerpt from a letter from Percy to Annabeth, dated March 28th, 2018:

….It’s still cold here in Manhattan. God, I’m jealous of how it probably is over in San Francisco--warm, sunny, just right for good afternoon walks….makes me frustrated just thinking about it. Nico and I haven’t even gone outside in the past few days. We’ve been staying inside, living off instant noodles. It’s harsh, really. But the weather outside is worse. Leo’s been hosting a lot of parties lately, to cure us of winter blues or something….nobody’s bothered to go, except for the over-supportive Frank and Hazel. I have no idea what Piper’s been up to, but Jason told me she got a job as a manager of a successful chain of beauty salons. Yeah, seems like something Piper would just do, right? Yeah. So how’s it over there in San Francisco? Maybe I should go visit sometime, while the weather here is still bitter cold and it’s not scalding hot over there….

____

Excerpt from a letter from Annabeth to Percy, dated April 10th, 2o18:

….Honestly, there’s no need to visit. I’m sure I’ll be coming over sometime soon. And anyways, Reyna and I are so busy around here. So many new places to explore! It’s really changed since I last got here. I’ve made some new friends, even met some old acquaintances. It’s nice here….

____

When Nico first moved in after Annabeth and Reyna’s departure, we watched a lot of Disney movies together. He seemed to have a passion for Finding Nemo. Sometimes I don’t get him.

____

While Annabeth’s leave was still fresh and painful, I often thought back to Bianca. Which was something of years past, something I wasn’t sure why I was even thinking about after all that had happened recently--but I thought of it. I thought of Bianca a lot, I thought of Bianca a lot.

I thought of her and how she sacrificed everything for someone she loved.

And I wondered why Annabeth was moving.

She wasn’t sacrificing anything for me. I mean, it seemed to me like she was taking away from me. Taking away from me.

But perhaps the problem here was that I wasn’t bothering to sacrifice for her.

Because I was perfectly content here with Nico.

____

Maybe I should’ve packed all my bags too, and maybe taken Nico with me and ran off to San Francisco with Annabeth if I really loved her. After all, that was what she had done for me.

But I didn’t want to sacrifice that, at all.

Because I never really loved her after I had Nico, you know.

It was just that everything had happened so suddenly, had came in so quickly at me that I felt like I had something, when honestly I’m not so sure I did.

Soon, the letters started coming less often. And when they did, they were short and messy. Always seemed to be written in a rush. Perhaps job meetings, parties, double dates, things to keep her busy from me.

And soon we just stopped sending each other letters. We didn’t bother too much. I suppose we just kind of forgot about each other, both of us trying to shape our lives on the opposite coasts.

____

Nico continued to chat with Reyna every day. She wasn’t on as often as usual, and neither was he.

Both acknowledged that they had their own new lives to attend to, and respected that. So they chatted when they could, and when they couldn’t, they shrugged their shoulders for a bit and went off to do something of their own.

____

Annabeth and Reyna never came back after a year.

Not after two years.

After two and a half years they came back for a brief vacation, but they never hinted at moving back.

____

N: well, should i tell him?

R: obviously, but it’s not that bad, u can always come over for trips and so can we...calm down man…

N: i miss u a lot. but i love him too im???????????????????

R: problems of life

____

“Um, Percy,” Nico murmured. “I have something I want to tell you.”

“Yeah?” I asked, flipping through the recipe books. Nico had said he wanted something special for tonight, so I was thinking of making some steak-y stuff.

“Do you want to move to San Francisco?”

“What?!” I screamed, letting the recipe book drop to the floor. “I mean--why?!”

“I don’t know. You’ve been sort of uneasy since Annabeth left. Different, I guess. At first I thought it was the shock, but it’s been years now….I thought going there might be nice. --Don’t get me wrong. Manhattan’s amazing. It’s just….”

“Hey, don’t worry,” I smiled, hugging him. “It’s all okay. Nothing’s changed. Hell, maybe it’s just you.”

Nico stood there for a moment, before barely whispering, “I want to go to San Francisco. For art school. When I come back, I wanna be an artist.”

“But--there’s are school in Manhattan too, Nico! You can….you can stay….”

“But I wanna go to the ones in San Francisco. And anyways, I miss Reyna. Sometimes I don’t really feel at home here, too. I just….I miss the old days, I guess.”

By old days I’m sure he meant the days he spent with Bianca. After all, San Francisco was kind of close to the Lotus Casino--of course he’d feel a little more at home too.

“I miss her,” Nico said, and this time, I knew he was talking about Bianca, not Reyna.

____

“I promise, I’ll call you next week.”

The third promise.

____

So I let him go.

Because I loved him, and even when he was gone and couldn’t chat as much as before, he still held such a huge place in my mind. I never forgot about him, because everything about him somehow tied to me.

I thought of Bianca. A lot.

She was like a replacement for Nico. Someone to keep me company in my head when he wasn’t around and I was lonely.

____

I thought of a lot of things she said. About how Nico wasn’t the right guy for most people, and I remember saying at the time--or at least, if not saying, hinting--that I didn’t like all people, that perhaps he wasn’t the right guy for me.

And then I ended up taking him under my wing.

Why? For pity? For lust? For protection?

Perhaps a bit of all those, but really, it’s because I made a promise.

____

I promised not to make Nico feel weird, and I was realizing I was beginning to fail at that. Truth was, I didn’t know how he worked. I guess I never really figured it out the whole time I was with him. I just let him manage his own things and I would too, and sometimes we’d put them together.

But I’d never really understood him, had I?

So that was the part where I had failed on Bianca’s promise.

I had to understand him. I had to take after like Bianca, who could understand so much and react to it in the right manner.

When Nico came back, I had to learn to understand him. Learn how his mind worked, learn what his heart like, know his systems like the back of my hand.

I owed that much to Bianca.

____

“How come I knew you’d call?”

“Yeah, well….”

“No, no--Nico came to me in San Francisco, told me he hadn’t been feeling at home back in Manhattan. He spends his days in a small, cramped dorm with a lousy roommate who barely ever talks to him and he only eats instant noodles every passing day, but he says he feels more at home there. I knew you’d call, Percy. I knew you would.”

“Yeah, well….”

“No, Percy, I’m not fucking done. I knew you’d call because you were one of those try-hard do-gooders that try to fix everything. Maybe fuck everything up a little bit, too. Just like Jason….” And she was quiet for a moment. I didn’t say anything either. I knew how things were between the two.

“Yeah. Well, anyways….”

“PERCY! For fuck’s sake, let me finish. All I’m saying is, you’re calling me because you want to win Nico back, you want him to be yours again--”

“I don’t really need to win him back, technic--”

“--AND you’re calling me because I’m his closest friend, no?”

“I guess.”

“Give me a definite answer.”

“Well, yes.”

“You’re going to ask me all about Nico, aren’t you? His favorite color, his favorite food, his favorite movies, all that shit that you should already know--for what? So you can get closer to him? Find more to talk about with him? What is it?”

“Well….I guess for the reasons you listed above….”

“Shit, what did you two even talk about then when you first met?”

I thought back, but I could never place a finger on any definite memory of things we talked about. Maybe vague things here and there, but nothing really worth noting. In fact, we barely had conversations, it seemed. Just fucked around a lot.

“Um….”

“Nothing?”

“Yeah. Something like that.”

“Well then, Percy. You’re going to have to fix that shit. And I’m not telling you anything.”

“What--?!”

“Well, what am I to you? Some fucking Nico di Angelo encyclopedia? Hell, I would want one, too. That kid’s tough to crack. But what I’m telling you is: you’ve got some kind of a relationship with him. As flimsy as it is, it’s better than nothing. You’ve got his number on your contacts list. Go up and fucking call him. It’s not that hard.”

“Um….just, well….”

“Well what? Nothing’s gonna stop you. I know Nico’s been dying to have a real, good conversation with you ever since the day he first lay eyes on you. I’ve been in his position before too, you know.”

“Okay. Um, thanks.”

“You’re welcome. And one last thing: his favorite color’s green, his favorite food is lasagna, and his favorite movie is--”

“--Finding Nemo. Thanks.”

____

I stared at my contacts list. There was Nico’s number, there in big, bold numbers.

There it was. A solution to everything.

But did I want to call?

I had only called him once--just to do a quick check, tell him about the news and whatnot. We’d talked for a long time, but the whole conversation had been sort of….disconnected. We both had other things on our minds, other things to think about.

So there it was. Just one button and maybe I could fix this whole damn mess.

Yeah.

____

Beep-beep. Beep-beep.

Nico could hear his phone ringing on the nightdrawer, so he rolled over to answer. It was 10 on the weekend--who the hell would call this early?!

Oh--Percy.

He flipped over, banging his head on the bunk roof and grabbed his phone. “Hello?”

“Hi, Nico. How’s it going over there?”

“It’s okay, I guess. Over there?”

“Fine, fine, but Piper accidentally messed up her bleach and now her hair’s a hideous green color.”

Nico snorted.

“Also, hey--I heard there’s going to be, like, a third Finding Nemo thing or whatever--”

“Shit, Percy, you just found out? That’s old news. I found out, like, last Christmas. But it’s coming out in a year or something. Long time to wait, right? But it’s gonna be coming out around my birthday. I wanna attend a movie premiere for it or shit--you know, a little birthday treat.”

“A movie premiere? Shit, Nico, you wanna get us broke?”

“Nah, by then I’ll probably be a famous artist--” Percy snorted on the other end. “--Hey, no shit! My professor says I’m already at the top of my game, you know. I could be a really really good artist!”

“Yeah, sure. Good luck with that.”

“Well, anyways, I haven’t asked for birthday gifts for the past ten or twelve years, you know? I think I’ve saved up enough for a little birthday treat like this.”

Percy laughed, and the two began to talk, for a long, long time, before Percy finally signed off for a movie night with Leo. Nico turned off his phone, feeling refreshed and alive.

That was, quite honestly, the first time he had ever been so at ease.

____

“Hey!” Leo screamed. I turned around and saw him at the other end of the movie theater, waving his hands madly. “If it isn’t Percy!”

“Hey,” I said, walking towards him. He was carrying a huge tub of popcorn and a bag of Skittles in the other. “Don’t….don’t tell me you actually bought all that?” I gasped.

“Nah, shit’s fine,” he smiled. “I’ve got friends around here, you know.”

“Yeah, really?” I asked, laughing. “And I always thought you were a bit of a loner!”

Leo was quiet for a second, and stared down at his old boots. Oh shit. I knew I’d hit a sore spot. So I patted him on the back and said, “Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine,” Leo murmured. “It’s just….okay, I wanted to tell you: I’ve been seeing someone for a while. That’s why I invited you to this movie night--I wanted to ask you for advice and shit.”

I laughed nervously. “Advice? Really, that’s--”

“Yeah, yeah” Leo smirked. “I know your relationships have all been pretty fucked up lately but….just general advice, you know? Like….how to keep things funky. And fresh. And shit, you know?”

“Well….” I hesitated, “um….who are you seeing, Leo?”

“Calypso.”

____

I paused for a really long time.

“Honestly, Leo, I don’t think I’m fit to be giving advice.”

“No sweat--just like little tidbits, you know? What to do on date night and stuff. I mean, things have been going pretty nicely between us so far, but like--I’m Leo, fucking Leo! Gotta look for a way to spice things up, right?”

“No, honestly--look, why don’t we finish the movie first, and then talk about this?”

____

The movie was pretty good--a comedy. Leo laughed the loudest at every joke.

____

“Well, the movie’s over now!” Leo smiled, clapping his hands together. “So. Advice, right? Or is there something you’ve gotta tell me?”

We were walking on the street outside the movie theater, passing restaurants filled with laughter and clamor. It was just starting to get dark, and some bars and nightclubs were starting to open, thin streams of people filing in and lights beginning to softly flicker.

“Well, I don’t think I can give you advice, because with Nico and I….” And I told Leo everything. I told him about Bianca, whom I wasn’t sure he knew, I told her about all those promises I made and why I even got with Nico in the first place, lust and promises and (fuck it), and how I really just believed we never, ever in our years of being together had ever had a full, interesting conversation and how we were only just getting started and shit.

“Wow….” Leo said, shaking his head slowly. “Wow. That’s….wow. That’s a really sad way to live, man.”

“I know, right? So yeah….I can’t give you advice. I never really knew how to ‘spice things up’ either.”

“Well, what about Annabeth? I mean, I take it you two had a really interesting relationship--hell, you jumped into Tartarus with her. And there’s no wifi down there, you know? You two kind of had to keep each other entertained.”

“I think we were busy enough trying to worry about survival and the quest, Leo, thank you very much,” I said, rolling my eyes. “And anyways, we were young at the time. Young, and constantly kept busy with quests. Looking back, it wasn’t as much a relationship as much of a….a partnership.”

“Gee, man….” Leo mumbled, shaking his head again. “Well….just wish you and Nico luck, alright? It’s a shaky thing you’ve got going there. When Nico comes back….you two visit Calypso and I, alright?” He waved at the intersection and walked off into the other direction to his apartment. I stared at his silhouette for a moment before running up to him and grabbing his arm.

“Wait, about Calypso--how? What about….what about her curse and stuff?”

Leo winked. “That’s a secret I’ll divulge when you and Nico come to visit me. As a happy, wonderfully coexisting couple.”

____

“Your wing’s a little uneven on one side.”

“Thanks, Nico.”

Reyna was sitting in front of her desk mirror, dutifully applying eyeliner. Nico was sitting on the edge of her bed, bored out of his mind, but he helped her anyways.

“God, you know I hate these things,” Reyna grumbled, fixing the tiniest parts. “Fuck company parties. Parties back at camp were soooo much better.”

Nico sighed. “You can stop with the eyeliner, Reyna. It’s good enough. From where I’m standing, it looks fine.”

“Thank god,” Reyna said. “Now it’s time for the next hard part: putting on the lipstick. And anyways, how am I gonna get this thing to last? Good gods….”

Nico watched Reyna apply her lipstick for a while, before finally losing his patience and screaming, “Did you honestly call me over just to help you with your makeup?!”

“Obviously not,” Reyna said, managing to roll her eyes while continuing to apply her lipstick. “I called for other matters, but makeup is coming first right now. Just wait till I’m done with the lipstick, okay? Then I’ll tell you everything.”

She dabbed on the last bits before capping the lipstick and turning around to face Nico. “So, Percy called.”

Nico gulped, and his face turned paper-white. Shit….what the hell was this supposed to even mean? “Um, what did he say?”

Reyna smiled. “He asked me about you.”

Nico blushed furiously, and he tried to hide it--too late though, Reyna had already noticed and was starting to laugh.

“H-hey--!” Nico stammered. “Did you call me over just for a sick joke?!”

“No, no, calm down….” Reyna smiled, still laughing a little. “No, it’s just. He called. He asked me about you. He called because you’d told him you weren’t feeling at home back in Manhattan and, you know, he wanted to get you back or something. Make you feel better. He called to ask me about you, so that you two could find something in common, something to talk about, a way to get closer.”

“R-really?” Nico mumbled, staring at his feet. This world was so big, and so small. Maybe if he stretched his arm right now, he could reach Percy on the other side of the nation. Maybe if he screamed at the stars loud enough, Percy would hear him and call back. This world….

“Yeah,” Reyna said, turning around and starting to work on eyeshadow. “No joke. So I’m telling you--he’s not as bad as a guy as you thought he was. He really cares about you, man. There’s no need to come running to me and clinging to me like I’m your mommy.” Reyna smiled sadly to herself in the mirror. “I mean, I will miss you when you leave, but Nico….he really cares about you. This right now? It’s your golden age, Nico. Go out and have some fun. Go home to Percy. I told you: this was a bad idea.”

“Yeah….” Nico mumbled, “yeah….” He stared at his feet, silently thinking, of everything. Of Percy and how blue his eyes were and of the stars and nights and loneliness and talking to him and

“Yeah,” Nico said suddenly, and jumped up and ran out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Reyna glanced back to where Nico had been sitting, then turned back to the mirror. She smiled sadly to herself again, and began to wipe away her lipstick.

____

I was alone at home reading some random Stephen King novel that Annabeth had recommended when I heard someone knocking at the door. The fuck? I thought, chills crawling down my spine. It was 11:00 P.M. I had no scheduled visits. Even if I’d been through Tartarus, I think I had a right to be scared.

I peered through the peephole, but I couldn’t tell who it was. All I saw was black. Um….

But I opened the door anyways.

____

Nico ran into Percy’s arms. “I missed you,” he sobbed into Percy’s shoulder.

“Oh my god!” Percy screamed. He pushed Nico off him and stared at him. “Oh my god. Oh….oh my god. You gave me a heart attack. Oh my god….god, thank god it’s you….oh my god. Nico, that was scary. Anyways, what are you doing here?”

“I missed you,” Nico repeated, worming his way back into Percy’s arms. “I really, really did.”

Percy patted Nico softly. “Yeah, yeah, but what about art school?”

“I missed you,” Nico repeated.

“Okay, okay,” Percy said quietly. “I understand.”

____

A few days earlier, Reyna had called me. It had been a quiet Sunday evening, and I was just starting to fall asleep when the loud ringing of the phone woke me up.

“SHIT!” I screamed loudly at the ceiling. “Who….” and then I realized only one person could be calling right now. I jumped out of my bed and grabbed the phone. “Nico! Hi!”

“It’s Reyna,” an annoyed voice said on the other end. “But if it makes you happy, I’m here to talk to you about him.”

“What, about his favorite movie and stuff? I don’t need that anymore. We’ve been getting along pretty well for the past few days, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. A few times he came up to me, all excited and everything and relayed something interesting you told him. But the thing is: Nico isn’t in his dorm anymore. I went there the other day, and his roommate said he’d left just yesterday.”

“Oh my god….” I whispered. Fuck, I knew I shouldn’t have let him run off on his own…. “Reyna, do you know--”

“Calm down, Percy,” Reyna said. “I think I’ve got a general idea of what’s happened.”

“Which is?”

“He’s going to be taking a flight home soon. Back to Manhattan. That’s what I think.”

“What….? Oh god, why? What about art school and everything? He can’t….is he just going to quit art school or something? Really?”

“I guess,” Reyna shrugged. “And he’s coming back….I don’t even know why. Probably because….okay, don’t hate me for this, but I told Nico about how you called me for--”

“What?! Why, Reyna?!”

“Because I felt like it, okay?! So I told him about it and everything, and then when I was done he just barged out of the room. So….so I think he’s coming back to Manhattan, back to you.”

“What?! He went to San Francisco to run away from me!”

“I know he did, Percy! I don’t need explaining! Look, Percy, I know Nico just as well as you do, but the thing is, I’ve been in his position before! I understand how he feels, and I understand always feeling like the second choice and then just given this opportunity, just having this opportunity thrown at you to become the real thing! I understand! All logic and common sense is thrown away, and you just chase after that opportunity, you just jump to these infinite heights to catch that opportunity, with no regards about how great the fall is going to be--!”

“Reyna--”

“Percy, when Annabeth offered to let me live next to her in Manhattan, you know what I did? I was the head of Camp Jupiter of the time. I had all the power one would want. I was sitting on an easy throne, and she told me, Let’s live in Manhattan together. Percy, did I fucking tell her to wait around a bit? No, I got my ass off that throne and fled to Manhattan with her! I left a life of luxury and ease for the chance to become Annabeth’s favorite girl! Percy, do you even understand? I couldn’t leave that opportunity behind. The thought of that was sickening to me.

“So you know? You have to understand where Nico’s reasoning is coming from. I know. But you’d never know, would you? You were always everyone’s number one, isn’t it?”

“No,” I said quietly. “I know. I know.”

____

Annabeth knocked on Reyna’s door.

“Come on in,” a faint voice said from inside.

“Hey,” Annabeth said, sitting next to Reyna. “Look, you’ve been crying. Your eyes are all red.” She dabbed at the edges of Reyna’s eyes, and smiled. “Come on, Reyna, it’s going to be okay.”

Reyna was quiet and just stared at her hand.

“Reyna,” Annabeth said softly. “I heard what you said on the phone.”

“I’m sorry,” Reyna said quickly, “it’s just--”

“No, no, don’t apologize,” Annabeth said. “I guess I’m the one who has to apologize, okay? It’s just….listening to everything you said….I never knew, Reyna, I never knew. I’d never understood what you had to sacrifice to be with me, you know? I never knew how devoted you were. It’s….it’s honestly a shock.”

“I guess,” Reyna muttered.

“Gods, and now I think back to all those times where I said you were being so clingy, to let me take a break, that my life didn’t have to revolve around yours….”

Reyna sniffed a bit, and Annabeth brought her into her arms, gently patting her back. “It’s just….I never knew. And I’m so sorry about everything, really. That I never treated you like the princess you were.”

Reyna sniffled and squeezed Annabeth tightly. “Queens,” she whispered. “We’re queens.”

Annabeth smiled, continuing to pat Reyna. “That’s right,” she mumbled. “We’re the queens.”

____

Nico and I, the next few years were so good for us. We were young and fresh. We were getting along so good now. We were the supreme couple. We were, honestly, the kings.

It was all good.

____

So. I think it’s about time I begin wrapping my story up. It was a nice story, perhaps. A good one to spend with you. But now I need to wrap up all the loose ends and get this over with.

Leo.

He ended up spending a happy life with Calypso. The two ended up moving to Seattle, and had two happy kids there. They run a pretty popular Etsy store now. Obviously.

Frank and Hazel.

The two stayed in New York, but went off to Brooklyn Heights to start a family over there. They went for adopt, the two of them: they got a Parisian girl and a Chinese boy. Hazel has a pretty successful bakery chain store. Nico and I buy panda cookies there all the time, and sometimes if Hazel’s there, she’ll treat us to some. Frank’s an actor for like, mutant movies and such. Obviously.

Jason and Piper.

The two moved to the stylish Los Angeles in the end. Last I heard, Piper’s a successful movie director. Jason’s the CEO of something. I forgot what it was, but it was some boring company. Maybe General Electrics or Harley Davidson or something. The two still haven’t had any kids, but they’re thinking of some soon.

Annabeth and Reyna.

We’re in touch a lot more now. And our relationships? Pretty good. Nico and I finally went to San Francisco together for a trip a few years ago, and it was pretty fun. The two acted as annoying tour guides, and they constantly refused to take us to popular tourist hotspots (“the ice-cream there is soo expensive, let’s go to an actual ice cream store instead!” “there’s hot dogs stands over there, but they’re so bad. Let’s go to In-N-Out Burger instead!”). They also came often, too--well, Reyna mostly. She had lots of business trips. Every time she came, she always had to make Nico a huge jar of salsa for later use (I forgot to mention, Leo never mastered the art of salsa-making).

The two of them have one kid. He’s cute but he likes to puke on my pants.

Nico.

We’re married. Aw, hell yeah! We still live in Manhattan. In our same apartment. Yeah, we haven’t moved an inch at all. But we’re thinking of also getting a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights with Hazel and Frank--we’re in the midst of adopting two kids, both Italian. Obviously. One’s a boy and the other’s a girl.

Bianca.

I still think of her. She doesn’t cross my mind as often anymore, because, if I have to be honest, I think I’ve cleared the mysteries of love. Now all I need to do is unravel the mysteries of life and shit and I think I’ll be, like, the master of the universe.

Nico.

The two of us have gotten so much, so much better. Life is good.

THE END

 

 


End file.
